Dissimulation
by Dokeshisan
Summary: This is set after Kirby battles Marx Soul. A female Waddle Dee saves Marx's life and learns the consequences of being his friend. I suppose there's a slight bit of romance, but not much.  Please R&R! COMPLETE
1. Prologue

Dissimulation

Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Well, I might. You'll know because you won't recognize them or you can't find them on the internet. I own the plot, anyway. Hm, I also made Dee (Parasol Waddle Dee) a girl, though it's male in the game. Now read and, preferably, review!

Prologue

The little purple creature looked barely alive. His skin had paled to an unhealthy, nearly white violet colour, as did his large, plum eyes. Cuts and bruises covered most of his face, though the largest wound was covered by his blue and red jester hat. The rim of his hat, which was originally white, was now bloodstained. He turned his small head slightly, wincing in pain at the effort, and studied his surroundings. He was in a dark room that didn't seem to have any specific size.

"You are…Marx, Yes?" Marx swung around and cried out in pain. Who the hell else would be here? Wherever it was, that is.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" He'd intended to sound strong and angry, but it didn't come out right. He actually sounded as if he were about to faint, which he was. His voice was almost a whisper and was raspy from screaming that time…

A large, white eyeball-like creature emerged from the shadows. Its single eye was blood red, as were its geometrically designed wings. Marx was amazed that it had actually done what he'd said. "I am Zero."

"Oh yeah! I remember you! You control Dark Matter! That's so cool! You were just like 'I'm going to take over Pop Star and make everyone miserable!', and then Kirby was like 'Oh no you don't!' and he KO'd you!"

Zero seemed not to notice Marx's sudden, very loud outburst and went on. "I had a feeling that you would know of me."

"Only what I've heard…" Marx smiled weakly. He was actually a secret fan of Zero. He could never tell anyone, of course, since they would turn on him. Not that this mattered now, but Marx couldn't tell Zero either. That would be embarrassing and he would be placing himself on a lower level than Zero. "I'm a fan though!" Oh well, it came out anyway.

A spark of happiness, if it was possible, was seen in Zero's eye for a brief moment. "I see. You are interesting, are you not?"

"Oh! No! I just, hey, are you male or female? I've always wanted to know!" Marx struggled to sit up. He felt a thousand and one questions for Zero pop into his head. This was great, since they had all the time in the world…or wherever it was where they were.

Zero was about to speak when a blinding light shone through the darkness. They both turned to squint at it. "Freedom…" it stared at Marx, "you should leave. You have unfinished things to do with your life. I feel that you don't belong here."

"Huh? Y'know, it'd help if I knew where here was!"

"Just leave! Now! We shall meet again!" Zero disappeared into nothing and Marx looked at the empty space sadly. He felt as if he had actually started to make a friend. Suddenly something tugged on one of the ends of Marx's hat, pulling him backwards. He screamed as warmth engulfed his entire body. Though he was being dragged into the brightest light he'd ever seen, he felt very sleepy. His eyelids were so heavy that he couldn't help but fall into a deep slumber.


	2. Broken and Restored

**Author's note: Okay, first I would like to thank Wolf'sBreath92 and ChaoCream for reviewing! You made me so happy^-^! Anyway, this chapter was originally going to be two, but I merged it into one (they were too short). So, hopefully I get more (good) reviews!**** Oh, I almost forgot to mention that everything after this is told in Dee's POV and Simirror is a girl. Don't ask how I came to this decision about its gender.**

1

Broken and Restored

I sighed and looked in the mirror one last time before I went out. Two brown eyes stared back at me from a mouthless, yellow face. I stuck my orange paw out and straightened the mirror, since it had been crooked. I then sighed and wondered why everyone in my species looked exactly the same. It could be annoying when people came up to you, mistaking you for another of your kind. Especially if the one they're asking for isn't even your gender.

"Dee!" I heard a muffled voice coming from the door. I tried to make myself look cheerful as I swung the front door of my house open.

"Hello!" I sang. Simirror and Kirby stood in front of me, the latter holding a tissue box, "What's the matter?"

Kirby wiped his non-existent nose with a pink tissue. "Ribbon left…" He sobbed. I groaned in response. Ribbon had been visiting us, as she did every month. I couldn't see why Kirby cried every time she left. Of course, I never really knew her well. No, please don't mistake me for that MALE Waddle Dee that went on that journey with them. Just don't even go there.

"Omigod! You should see him whine about it!" Simirror laughed, "After all he's been through and _this _makes him cry!"

"Hey! Well, one of my friends just used me to try and take over the world, so I have lots to cry about!" Kirby defended himself. His sparkly blue eyes looked so determined that it was funny.

"Marx," I sighed. He was dead now, which probably should've been good. He really didn't deserve a second chance after trying to take over the world to cause chaos. He didn't seem like a bad person, though. Not that I cared.

"Yeah! I had to kill him!" Kirby complained, "That is SO uncool!"

Simirror frowned. Or, I think she did. I couldn't really tell since her mouth was hidden behind a scarf. "Can you even call him your friend? He wasn't very social."

"True." Kirby agreed. I nodded along with them. Though, for someone who wasn't social, everyone knew Marx's name even before the 'take over Pop Star using a giant wish granting clock/comet named Nova' thing. I can't tell you why.

"He wasn't all that bad though. I mean, he still helped me get a job at Kawasaki's restaurant." I felt suddenly like we were discussing pros and cons. Well, either way, this statement was true. Both Marx and I used to work in Dedede's castle (I was a maid, he was a jester). We talked sometimes and developed a loose friendship. So one day he told me about a job at Kawasaki's and I took it. We lost touch after that, but neither of us really minded.

"Oh! I remember that!" Kirby exclaimed, "You told me the whole story in detail, didn't you, Dee?"

I blushed. I'd almost forgotten about the childish crush I'd had on Marx. That was along time ago, though. "Okay, so what did you come over here for anyway?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Um," Kirby placed a pink paw on his chin, "I forget!"

Simirror rolled her eyes. "Of course you do," She turned to me, "Remember the pie you made for Meta Knight's birthday?"

"Oh!" I looked at the cherry pie sitting on my kitchen table, "Just a second!" I quickly retrieved the pie and handed it over to Kirby and Simirror.

"Cool!" Kirby opened his mouth to eat it but Simirror took it before he could.

"Alright, thanks Dee," Simirror looked at me happily, beginning to walk away. She grabbed Kirby's paw and dragged him along. I chuckled to myself and closed the door. Meta Knight's birthday was still a while away, but I'd made the pie in advance. It was always good to be prepared for everything. Sometimes you had to expect the unexpected, too.

It was at that moment, when I was deep in thought, that I remembered I had to go to work. I gasped and dashed out the door.

****

_I was falling, falling from a cliff. I saw twizzies and bronto burts everywhere. I wasn't scared, though. I __felt free and happy. I then saw a giant hole of darkness swallow me up. I screamed._

I woke up from my nap in the woods. I'd gone for a walk to beat my boredom on that day. Not that I was bored often, but it was after work and I wasn't needed for Meta Knight's birthday party preparations. I would've usually on a day like this gone home to clean the house, but you can't clean something that's already spotless. It was okay, though, the walk. It was nice until I got lost and fell asleep.

"Hey, little girl," I jumped and turned around to see Whispy Woods. He was a tall, old tree who ruled over the forest. His face was as big as me.

"Hi Whispy!" 

He laughed a deep laugh. "There's a boy about your age who fainted around here." He suddenly looked grave.

"Who?" I asked. Was it someone I knew?

"I don't know. He isn't a regular face you see here." Whispy now changed from grave to distant.

"Meaning you want me to save him?"

"Sounds about right!" Whispy laughed. He closed his eyes, "Go before it's too late…"

I tried to sound sceptical. "Okay, whatever that means." I then found myself talking to no one as Whispy had fallen asleep. I turned around and began to walk away. The scenery didn't change much-tree, bush, tree, bush, bush, tree, tree, tree…It was creepy. I sat down to rest after a while and couldn't help but fall asleep.

****

I woke up again to feel a weight against my side. I shoved it off and it whimpered. I opened up my eyes and looked at my paws, which were covered in blood.

"Please don't…hurt me…" The being in front of me whispered in a raspy voice. He (it was a boy) was soaking wet in his own blood. His clothes had bloodstains all over them, especially his jester hat. Jester hat…

"Marx!" I looked around for a weapon. Even if he looked weak, he could still attempt to kill me. I couldn't know what he was thinking-he was insane.

"NO! Please!" He squealed, his large eyes welling up with tears as he cowered away from me.

I froze, and then walked towards him. I reached out my paw and rubbed his bloody cheek gently. "You aren't going to hurt me are you?" I shook my head, "Well, I can't believe that you're alive!"

"I wouldn't hurt…" Marx fell over onto his face. He probably lost too much blood to stay conscious. I sighed, toying with the idea of leaving him there to die. In the end I picked him up and carried him to my house. I could never live with the guilty feeling that I'd pretty much killed someone. At the time I decided just to nurse him back to health then tell him to leave, but things, no matter how much I prepare, never go according to plan for me.

****

I watched Marx's face as he slept. I had cleaned off most of the blood so I could see his face clearly. He looked pale, which was a result of blood loss and probably stress, too. He suddenly opened his big purple eyes and stared at me as I petted his head as gently as possible.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" I sighed. Marx looked quizzical.

"Why?"

I stepped away from the bed which I had placed him in. "I don't know. You don't seem too bad and I couldn't just leave you there to die."

"Ah. Um, I have a headache," He sat up, which looked like it took great effort. I nodded and took his hat off. He had two pointy ears on top of his head, the left one bearing a giant wound which had blood pouring out of it. My eyes widened in shock as I got up to get a wet wash cloth. I returned and now it was Marx's turn to look surprised.

"What's wrong?" I asked. The cloth didn't really look scary. He probably thought it was wet with rubbing alcohol, which it wasn't.

"Don't touch me with that!" He screeched, "Who are you anyway? Go away!"

I touched the wound with the cloth and Marx calmed down. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" I removed it and looked at him. The blood was mostly gone, but it wouldn't exactly look nice once it scabbed over.

"That was where," He winced as I put the cloth on it again, "Kirby hit me with his hammer…it hurt, though you would probably know that because it's so obvious! Yeah, I don't have to tell you since you can guess. I mean, you look pretty smart and what did you say your name was?"

"It doesn't matter! You should be more worried about getting better, okay? Just let me bandage it and get some sleep." I did as I said, wrapping his wound up in a bandage. I then pushed him down gently into the bed, covering him up again in the blankets. "I'll wash your hat, if that's okay with you."

"Sure. You're Dee, aren't you? That maid who like me…" Marx closed his eyes and fell asleep. I blushed and turned away. I was almost tempted to hug him, though I luckily resisted. That would be embarrassing.

**Yay! A long-ish chapter! I'm so proud! Anyway, please R&R! I love feedback! ****Please tell me if you think this is a good pairing, too (meaning Marx/Dee)! Oh, and if there are any mistakes feel free to point them out! ^_^ **


	3. Q & A

**Author's Note: Yay! More reviews! That means I can thank ChaoCream and Wolf'sBreath92 again plus Amaya2010**** and Mable! Anyway, getting back to the story, I added a lot to this chapter. It was kind of short to begin with, I just feel like I should tell you that. Oh! I started a series of Marx one-shots! Please read the first one! **

2

Q &A

"Here!" I sang to the young couple in Kawasaki's restaurant. They looked down at the sushi on their plates and frowned. I sighed and walked towards the kitchen. No one really liked Kawasaki's food except a select few, and even they sometimes had doubts. Not that the people living in our town had a choice since this was the only restaurant ever built there.

"Dee!" I entered the kitchen and a bowl of sushi flew at me. I jumped out of the way and it hit the wall, leaving a greasy stain. "Oops."

"Um, Kawasaki?" I turned to the chef as he ran towards the wall with a cloth, "Maybe we should sell something really different for a change?"

He seemed shocked. "No! I can't do that! I must be traditional with my cooking!" He crossed his arms and looked at me angrily as if I'd just broken a rule.

I sighed. I would just have to force him to agree. "I'll make pizza and burgers myself if you don't hurry up and agree!"

"You wouldn't!" He gasped.

I shook my head and began to walk away. Just to shock him I turned around again. "Do you want to make money?"

He shook his head. "No! I'm not changing my menu!"

"Then you're as crazy as Marx," I paused. That simile was used a lot lately but it didn't seem right for me to use since Marx was actually living in my house at that moment.

"I mean what I say!" Kawasaki yelled as he threw sushi at the ceiling by accident.

I chuckled. "Okay, don't use your sushi as a weapon on me or anything!" I grabbed my handbag and slung it over my shoulder, "I'm going home for the day, alright?" I saw Kawasaki nod and wave. He didn't mind when I got off as long as the restaurant wasn't busy at that time.

The walk home wasn't exactly enjoyable. I tripped up a lot for some reason and banged into one of the pedestrians on the street. This was probably because of my lack of sleep (I couldn't sleep on the floor and Marx had the bed). It wasn't like I had a choice, though. I would have to be heartless to kick a sick person out of bed.

I pushed open my front door and threw my bag down. I hadn't realized how tired I actually was until I collapsed onto my bed. It was so soft and comforting that I couldn't help but begin to drift off. That was before Marx kicked me.

"Dee! What are you doing?"

"Marx!" I yelled hugging him, "You're so cute!"

"What? Why are you hugging me?" He tore away from me and laughed. I blushed, punching his side while laughing along with him.

"Did you sleep all day?" I tried to change the subject.

He grinned. "Maybe. I ate your pie, too." This caused me to turn to the table where my second pie for Meta Knight's birthday once stood. It wasn't really necessary since I made it just for Meta Knight and not for the party. I guess you could call it my present.

"That wasn't for you…" I groaned. Marx's happy expression didn't change at all, "What?"

"I don't know. I just feel really good!"

"Says the one who didn't have to work all day," I fluffed his (well, it's actually mine) pillow and got up to tuck him in again, "Go back to sleep. I can't take your unlimited energy right now."

"But, I know nothing about you and vice versa. Can't we just talk for a while?" He peeked over the blankets at me with his giant eyes. It would be hard to say no, so I didn't.

"Okay, but not for long," I sat next to Marx on the bed and lowered the covers to see his mouth, "Well, say something!"

"What's your favourite colour?" He giggled, sitting up.

"Green. You?"

"Purple. Your turn to ask a question!"

I thought for a minute. What would be a good question? "Where were you born?" After I asked this Marx's face dropped.

"I…don't know. How about you?" He tried to smile and look happy but I could see that he was somewhere else. Somewhere sad, probably.

"Dreamland, of course. Ask me another question!" I didn't want to make him feel bad. Not that he deserved any joy…

Marx suddenly glared at me. "It doesn't matter. You're tired, aren't you? Go to sleep then. See what I care." He laid down and stuffed his face into the pillow.

"Jeez, you have a bad temper, don't you?" I grabbed a blanket from the floor next to the bed and wrapped it around my body as I sat down there. Just as I was about to fall asleep I heard Marx's voice.

"I'm not mad at you," He mumbled, still not facing me, "I just really don't want to think of the past."

I nodded though he couldn't see me. "Okay. I understand. Good night!"

"It's going to rain tomorrow, I can feel it!" He rolled over to face me, finally.

I shook my head. "No, it was too sunny today. I don't think it'll rain."

"You just wait and see. I'm right!"

It was raining the next day, as Marx predicted. When I looked out my window I saw villagers scrambling around everywhere, looking for shelter. It was actually pretty funny.

"I'm gonna have to go out in this, too," I sighed at Marx, who was nibbling on some toast. I wasn't going to mention our last conversation before bed the other night. I hated being wrong.

"Uhn." I hadn't expected his reply to be intelligent because it was so early in the morning so I wasn't surprised.

I pushed the front door open slightly. "Kay, I'm gone."

"Wait! Dee!" I turned around, "I forgot to tell you that I think yer cute. I mean, ya told me I was last night, so…mm" He fell asleep before finishing his sentence. I felt a warm feeling in my stomach and I went over to him just to kiss the top of his head. It probably wasn't a good thing to do, but it felt okay at the time. After all, what could be better than two people that don't really matter being friends? Maybe I was a totally normal, boring creature and he was the center of many jokes, but we were getting along and that's all that will ever matter.

**Author's note: There! Ugh…that took forever to write it for some reason****. I hope it didn't suck too much because I hurried at the end. So anyway, in the next chapter I'll focus less on Marx and Dee's relationship and more on other things like—no! It's a surprise! Speaking of Marx and Dee, I came up with a name for their couple (in response to Mable…)! I call it…Jester'sParasolShipping (remember, Dee is Parasol Waddle Dee)! Tell me if you like it and merry Christmas people who celebrate it!^^**


	4. J'ai choqué vous?

**Author's note: The next chapter is here^^! The title, by the way, is in French. If the accent over the 'e' in 'choque' disappears in the uploading process, please know that it belongs there! Also, thank you whoever reviews! You rock awesome sauce!X3 Oh, I also rewrote this chapter three times, so it should be uber-good! Or not…either way, I changed a lot this time! Enjoy! **

4

J'ai choqué vous?

It was Meta Knight's birthday. Yes, the day we were waiting for finally came. The day we'd spent weeks preparing for (I really can't tell you why)! Since we only had a couple of hours left before Meta Knight arrived at the party I ran out of the door in such a hurry that I forgot to tell Marx about it. I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

"Are you done setting up the food, Dee?"

I turned to Chilly, a snowman-like creature wearing a collar. "Almost!" I replied, looking at the rest of the room. It was an old storage area in the back of Kawasaki's restaurant. In the beginning it was really dull and grey but now it looked amazing with the food, decorations and giant banner. All we needed was the cake.

"Arrgh! Finally finished the banner!" Simirror walked over and pretended to collapse onto my side to show how tired she was. I pushed her off gently and turned to the banner. It was blood red with the words "Hppy Birthday Mta nite!" scrolled in fancy writing.

"Uh, you spelled almost all of it wrong," I wanted to laugh, but that would be cruel.

She looked shocked. "Omigod, I did! Darn, I knew I shouldn't have listened to Kirby! He can't spell!"

The urge to laugh disappeared and now I just wanted to cry. "Well, at least it's pretty…why couldn't you just ask me to spell for you, or Chilly?" I gestured to Chilly.

"Hey! I can't spell either!" He said.

"Can anyone in this town?" I wondered out loud, "besides me that is."

Simirror shook her head. "Meta Knight can…and that girl over there," She pointed at a blonde girl talking to Kirby across the room. Fumu, I think her name was. "And Marx might've been able to. He was crazy smart, after all."

I sighed. "Look, just never mind that, okay? There's nothing we can do about it now."

"Oh, yeah, I guess so. Hey Dee, I have to talk to you." Simirror turned to Chilly, "Can you leave?"

Chilly shrugged. "Sure." He left, heading towards Kirby and Fumu. Simirror glared at me.

"What?"

"You're acting grumpy. Is something up?" She asked all friendly.

I shook my head. "The sky," This just earned me another glare, "Okay, I haven't been sleeping much lately. I just have a lot on my shoulders right now."

"Oh. I thought something else…nevermind, the cake is here!" We both looked at the door in unison. Chef Kawasaki, with the help of a few Waddle Dees, was wheeling in a giant cake. It was navy blue with black icing on the rims of each of the five layers. There was a single white candle on top.

I ran over, excited. "Kawasaki!" I yelled, "It's amazing!" I gave him a cheerful glance and he placed a paw on top of my head.

"It shouldn't be amazing! After all, I made it!" He chuckled. I nodded and left to help the other Waddle Dees place the colossal thing in the middle of the table. It took a few tries, but we eventually succeeded.

"He's almost here! I saw him on the street!" Kirby came in holding a saucepan. I wasn't going to ask why.

"Good," I yelled back, "We're all done in here!"

The doorknob on the back door leading outside suddenly turned and Meta Knight, wrapped in his navy cape, stepped in. There was a silence, then we all shouted "Mauve Diadem!" These words were chosen at random by Kirby out of the dictionary. He said it was more original than "surprise," which it was if nothing else.

"Perdóneme?" He asked in Spanish. He looked around for a while, then his eyes settled on the banner. He laughed slightly. "That sign wishes me a happy birthday, I believe, yet it isn't my birthday,"

"Oh foo!" Kirby let out a sigh, "I told everyone it was and we all worked so hard…I hope you aren't mad at us for wasting your time."

Meta Knight didn't say anything for a long time until his eyes changed to pink with amusement. "No, I'm very glad you care so much."

Almost everyone in the room let out an exasperated sigh. I heard someone in the crowd yell "Better not waste the cake!" and before I could do anything, everyone ran to the cake. I giggled and grabbed a piece of my own before it disappeared. By the middle of the party half of it was magically gone (in other words, most of it was in Kirby's stomach). I was actually surprised at how good it was, so I ended up thanking Kawasaki at least twenty times. I also hung around with him for most of the party.

"You don't need to thank me so much, you know. Kirby seems to like it enough and he hasn't thanked me at all! Eating it is thanks enough." Kawasaki laughed.

I shook my head. "I don't think Kirby even has time to taste it though. He eats it way too fast. The food probably goes to another dimension or something."

He suddenly stopped laughing. "Hey, what's that over there?" I followed his gaze but saw nothing.

"What?"

"Dee!" He yelled, grabbing my arm, "I just saw Marx! _MARX!_" I felt everyone's eyes dart to us.

"What's this?" Simirror asked. My face was cold. The blood probably drained from it.

Kawasaki began to pull my arm along with him as he ran toward the other side of the room. "Over here! I saw him!" he stopped, "Come out of hiding, you coward!"

The top of Marx's head appeared behind the table. "Is Dee there?" He whispered.

"Dee?" Kirby asked. He seemed confused, shocked and he wasn't reacting hysterically which probably wasn't good.

"I'm here," I whimpered in reply, "Why?"

"Dee!" Marx cackled and jumped onto the table, "Oh! You're alright! Good, I was worried when you didn't come home! Have I shocked you? By finding you here, I mean."

There was a long silence. I looked around at everyone. They were pretty much glaring at me. "I…this isn't what it looks like." I wanted to explain, but I'm sure they wouldn't understand.

"You accepted an outcast into your house and he lives there with you…"Meta Knight started.

"Ahhh, you make it sound bad," I wanted to argue, but it didn't come out right. After all, he called Marx an outcast.

Fortunately Marx noticed this. "Hey! He just totally called me an outcast! That was uncalled for and mean!"

I heard a bunch of angry yells come from the crowd around us. I saw Marx begin to panic on top of the table. I almost felt bad for him—he probably thought that I told the others he was staying with me. Still, he did address and talk to me in front of a room of people. He should've known better…that was just plain embarrassing.

"Silencio!" Another Spanish word, "Please, I hadn't finished." We all turned to Meta Knight, who no longer had his cape wrapped around his body, "I understand Dee's decision and I support it. That is all. Argue amongst yourselves."

I stared at him with happy tears in my eyes. "Meta…"

"Wait, so Dee didn't tell anyone about me and now you're all really angry…at me? Don't be angry at Dee. That would just be dumb!" Marx jumped off the table and stood next to me. I felt like shoving him away violently, but I resisted.

"So, Marx, you survived?" Kirby asked. I couldn't tell if he was angry or not.

Marx talked to Kirby but didn't look at him. "Jeez, what gave you that idea?" He sounded scared. I turned to him and gave him a reassuring cheery expression (since I couldn't smile). He grinned back nervously.

Kirby nodded and seemed happy for some weird reason. "That's good! I'm glad I didn't have to kill you for real! I hate killing people, especially if they need to die twice like Drawcia and Zero and you!" If this was in a manga, his sentence would have a heart after it.

"So, you aren't angry?" I inquired.

He shook his head. "Nope. I think if Dee trusts someone then they're trustable!"

"I don't think trustable is a word." That was Fumu, who stood next to Kirby, "And, do you really think we can let him live here in the village? I mean, what he did before, we couldn't predict. So what if he does something else…"

"Shut up!" Marx snapped, "I don't know you, but you're a major ass if you expect everyone to be perfect all the time. So I made a mistake, but you don't have to jump on my back for it! I already punish myself for it daily for it and it isn't…I didn't mean to hurt anyone. It was actually kind of self destructive if you think about it…" He looked at his feet, obviously embarrassed.

"He has his priorities straight now," I added, "It's okay. We can trust him."

Meta Knight spoke. "Then Marx is staying with us. That is that."

There was a murmur of agreement and everyone went back to what they were doing. I let out a relieved sigh and looked at Marx. He appeared to be okay but under that he was probably uncomfortable. I poked him in the side and he stared at me as if he'd just woken up from a daydream. "Marx, you look tired. Let's go home, alright?"

He smiled. "Yeah, sure, home."

The walk home was a quiet one. I expected Marx to talk most of the way about useless things, but not a word left his mouth. This made me sad because his boyish, almost nasal voice was always soothing. I couldn't explain it. In fact, I shouldn't have even said that. It was just plain embarrassing.

"Don't you find it weird that everyone just accepted me like this?"" Marx asked just before bed. He sounded weak and worn-out.

I shook my head. "No, not really. Hey, you're sleeping on the floor tonight. I'm getting tired of—"

"I want to sleep on the bed." He insisted, "Maybe we can sleep in it together."

"Uh, you mean together as in side by side? In there?" I gestured to the bed, "Are you sure?"

He smiled. "It isn't weird or anything. We're just friends, right? Or, do you think there's more going on?"

I blushed. "No! Just get in then." I lifted the blankets and Marx climbed into the bed. I looked at him for a while before getting in myself. I continued staring at him while I laid there, studying each and every one of his facial features as he slept. Watching him do this made me feel tired too and eventually I joined him.

**Author's note: Wow, I wrote this in one whole day O.O! Okay, so maybe it isn't that amazing but it was fun^^! Anyway, I said earlier that I rewrote this three times. Just to explain, I didn't write all three drafts in one day (of course not. That's crazy!). I was very happy with this chapter in the end, especially since Meta Knight made his first appearance (and Fumu. I'll add Bun later!)! I hope you enjoy reading it as I did writing it! Please review! Marx wants you to as well (LOLZ)!8D**


	5. The First One To Love

**Author's Note: Chapter four^^! I'm not sure what to say other than the plot WILL get more exciting…in about three more chapters. **

**Audience: (Groans)**

**Dokeshisan: Hmm…oh, and if you're wondering what song Marx is humming, it's Strawberry Avalanche by Owl City. Listen to it on YouTube!3 It's one of the most random songs ever!**

4

The First One to Love

"I need to get a job…"

I turned to Marx. He was eating toast again. In fact, he refused to eat anything else so, for his health; I made it for him every morning. "Why? You're still getting better."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know, but I don't want you to have to work all day and then worry that you aren't making enough money. I want to help you." He bit into the toast and chewed it with his eyes closed.

"What are you doing?" I asked. If there was anything I learned about Marx during the time we spent living together so far it was that he just did these weird meaningless things sometimes. Like chewing toast with his eyes closed.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Marx opened his eyes and stared at me.

I shook my head. "You were that kid, weren't you? The one who does weird stuff that the other kids want to laugh at but aren't sure what would happen if they did."

"And whenever he says something in class they look at him like he's speaking another language? Yeah, that would be me," he whispered. I felt bad because, in a way, I just made fun of him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way. You're my friend—I wouldn't want to hurt you," I placed a paw on his head and we both stayed there in that pose for a while.

He grinned. "Yeah, I know! I really do need a job though. Hey, does Kawasaki need anyone to help around the kitchen?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so. I'll have to check, okay?" I stepped away, "I'm not sure if you're trying or anything, but you act really differently around me."

"Huh?" He looked at me endearingly, "what do you mean?"

"You act…gentle. You're nicer."

"Oh," he shrugged it off, "Can you really ask Kawasaki for me? That'd be cool."

I grabbed my purse. "Yes, I am cool, aren't I?" I giggled, "Make lunch for yourself and take a shower. I'll be home around five. Don't do anything stupid."

"I won't," he laughed, "You be safe too."

That day on lunch break I sat at a table in Kawasaki's restaurant with Kirby and Simirror. Kirby was eating, as usual, and Simirror was talking about the local gossip.

"Hey, I heard people are disappearing." Simirror said suddenly, glaring at me for some reason.

Kirby dropped his food. "Oh no! Do I have to kill someone?"

"Um, you make it sound normal, Kirby," I laughed. He smiled.

"Hmm, I wonder who it is making them disappear?" Simirror kept glaring at me, "Maybe it's someone we know we can't trust but we let them into our community anyway, right Dee?"

I gawked at her, horrified. "Are you blaming Marx? That isn't right! He wouldn't kill people or whatever it is you think is happening!"

"Oh really? So you can tell me where he was yesterday?" She asked.

I blushed. "He was in my house…sleeping, like every day. What else?" I found myself laughing about it.

"I wasn't blaming him I guess," Simirror sighed, "he did seem pretty harmless at the party the other night."

"He is…you could even call him childish," I couldn't stop laughing for some odd reason, "nah, he's a nice person."

Kirby giggled next to me. "Unless he gets ticked."

I stopped laughing. Marx had never been angry at me yet. "What's it like when he's mad at you?"

"Oh, he's like 'GRAIMGONNAKILLYUZ' and then you fear for your life!" Kirby threw his arms up in the air to emphasize.

I stared at him blankly. "Uh, yeah, I'll take your word for it."

"Hey, hey, hey!" We all turned to the door. Marx was standing there, looking all innocent and happy. I waved and got a fourth chair for him to sit down on. He sat and grinned up at me.

"What?" I asked, "I thought you were looking for a job or watching TV or whatever it is you do without me."

He blinked. "Huh? Oh yeah, I got a job. It was with Dedede…again." I sighed in relief since Kawasaki told me there was no need for Marx to work here.

"Are you his jester?" Simirror asked, "Then you can move out of Dee's house and into the castle."

Marx turned to me. "Do you want me to?" He was studying me so closely that it made me uncomfortable, "I will if you do."

"Uh, but," I looked down sadly at the table, "It would be lonely without you. I want you to stay with me!"

"Yay! You guys are good friends!" Kirby clapped, "I like seeing people getting along!"

"Yeah, alright," Marx smiled at Kirby, showing his teeth, "Oh crap. I almost forgot. I need to do…something."

Simirror appeared as if she was frowning. "'Something?' Like what?"

"I need to buy something. For someone. For some occasion."

I nudged his side so that he turned to me. "You mean like a present for me for my birthday next week?"

"Oh," He blushed, "Kinda, yeah. I need money though. The bank kicked me out of my account and I can't use it anymore."

Kirby seemed confused. "Why'd they do that?"

"Duh! They thought I was dead!" Marx hissed, suddenly angry, "Besides that, they just hate me."

"Woah, you get mad easily. Just chill." Kirby smiled joyfully, "We gotta live life to its fullest!"

"Uh-huh. Yeah. Riiiiiight. Dee, can I borrow some money?"

"Um," I started, "that'd just be like I bought my own present."

He frowned. "Oh, how about I get some from Kirby then? Or Simirror? Please?"

"NO!" They both told him in unison. I laughed at it which just made Marx glare at me. After that, he became sad. Or, he was acting sad to get his own way.

"But, I really want to get Dee a present…please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, pleeeeeeeaaaaase…"

"AARGH!" Simirror yelled, "Okay, but only because you're annoying!" She took some money out of her purse, "Twenty Deden. Don't spend it on yourself you goddamn, crazy, annoying, selfish, little…guy."

Marx cackled. "Is that all you can come up with? Well, thanks anyway…where do I put it?"

I got up, "Well, I need to get back to working. I'll see you!"

Marx picked the money up with his mouth and began to walk away. "'Kay, shee you? Yesh, of courshe…hmm, hm, hm, hm, hm, hmmm!"

As soon as he left Kirby looked up at me. "We'll wait here for a while."

"Okay!" I waved and headed for the kitchen.

_LineLineLine_

I was walking home in the extreme darkness with my parasol. It probably looked weird, but it was only for self defence. I rounded a corner and was about to keep walking when someone jumped in front of me.

"Give me your money!" He yelled. He looked kind of like a cat in a bandit costume.

"Why would I do that? It's not like I have much anyway…"

"Hand it over! NOW!"

I scowled at him. "You don't know who you're messing with, do you?" I opened my parasol. I guess you could call it a magical item since it never broke no matter how many people I hit with it…that sounded sadistic.

"Oh right, a little girl with an umbrella. Cute. Give me your stupid money!" He tried to grab my purse so I hit him with my parasol—hard. He stepped back and held his head in pain.

"I told you not to—Oh!" His hand suddenly flew from his body and nearly hit me. It seemed like we both had our own good powers.

"Hey! Don't hurt her, get away!" Someone came running in our direction. As they came closer I could see who it was—Marx.

He stood in front of me defensively, breathing heavily. He probably wasn't used to exercising much. "What are you doing?" I asked him, almost sounding relieved.

"Oh, so she has a boyfriend, does she?" The bandit laughed, "Fine, you don't look very strong."

Marx threw his head back and cackled. "We'll see who's weak," A cloud of darkness surrounded his body and I could hear a cracking sound. As the cloud disappeared Marx spread out a new pair of bat-like, red wings. I noticed that most of his clothes had changed and his tongue was too long to stay in his mouth anymore. His face looked like a deformed version of what it originally was. I backed away in disgust.

"Wow, okay, I'm going to have nightmares just by looking at you!" The bandit began to walk away, "I think the freak show is missing someone!" He yelled before darting off.

"Are you…Oh, crap," Marx's right eye twitched, "Just a second," this time light engulfed him and he transformed back to his original form, "I'm sorry you had to see that."

I shook my head. "I don't know what you mean. Let's just go home."

It was another quiet walk home together. I couldn't seem to bring myself to think about Marx, even though he was next to me. The fact that he could change into something so grotesque scared the heck out of me. If that…thing was inside of him, then how does it reflect his real personality?

"Okay, time for bed," I yawned as soon as we got home. For no apparent reason Marx began to cry. "What's wrong?"

"You hate me! I can tell!" he sniffled, "Just because I turned into THAT! You hate me..."

I wanted to say something, but I couldn't find anything besides "No, that'd be stupid."

"Then I guess you're stupid, aren't you?" He fell onto the floor and started to sob hysterically, "I just want someone to love me for who I really am…Is that too much to ask for?"

"Maybe it would help if you could actually give that person a chance to speak!"

The crying stopped after a while and Marx turned to me, his face and eyes red. "Why should I listen to you? You hate—"

"Shut up!" He stopped, so I continued, "I'm sorry if I'm not being as nice as you want me to be, but that…you scared me! That thing you turned into is horrible and disgusting!"

"Then you hate me…"

"No," I sat down in front of him, "I love you. You're an amazing person and you've come so far! I mean, you're my best friend, of course I love you!"

He was very quiet for a long time. "You…love me?"

"That's what I said!" I paused, "Oh, I forgot to thank you for saving me. That was sweet!"

"Love…I don't think anyone has ever loved me before." Marx closed his eyes, "I love you too. That's why I act so different when I'm with you. 'Cuz with you I can be who I really am." When his eyes opened again they were wet with tears.

I grabbed him and gave him a giant hug. "You aren't just my best friend. You're the best friend I've ever had in my whole life."

"You too."

I let go. "Hey, did you get me my present?"

"Uh-huh! I hope you like it!" He smiled, "You can sleep in the bed tonight. I'll sleep on the floor from now on.

I stared at him blankly. "Huh? Why? How'd you make that decision?"

"It seems like the gentlemanly thing to do. Y'know, like, Meta Knight would do that. You would too."

I shook my head. "Since when are you a gentleman? I would never choose that word to describe you!"

Marx was quiet as he thought about this. "Mmmm, true. The bed is mine!" He dived for the bed and I shoved him off again. After that I threw my pillow at him and he started to have a laughing fit.

"It isn't that funny, is it?"

"Ahh, no, I guess not," He grabbed a cushion from one of the kitchen chairs and hit me with it, "But that was!"

"Hey!" I picked up my pillow again and smacked him on the head. We kept hitting each other a few times until we tired ourselves out and fell asleep on the bed next to each other once again.

**Author's note: The longest chapter yet! Yay! I enjoyed writing this, despite the fact that it was painfully boring…Oooh! Gotta love Maruku-Kun! **

**Marx: Huh, who's that?T_T**

**Dokeshisan: You, dummie! Don't forget your original name! :P**

**Marx:…I knew that! Please review!^^**

**Dokeshisan: You stole my line! Foo! But yeah, review!^^**


	6. I'll watch you falling for me

**Author's note: Now that I think about it…what world is this set in? I mean, Kirby can talk but anime characters are there and some ideas from the anime are too (Meta Knight's accent etc.)! Oh my Nova, what the hell?**

**Oh, in the last chapter I said "Dived" When I should've said "Dove!" I can't be bothered to fix it, though.**

**Anyway, about the story, I was going to put Marx's birthday in this one as well but it seemed like too much. Maybe in the sequel, if I write one. I'd probably set his in early February…Dee's is in the end of August…hmm…So, please R&R!^^**

5

I'll watch you falling for me

I didn't want a party. I really didn't. I liked birthday parties, sure, but not when they're for me. It just wasn't my thing. Marx was fine with this, though I couldn't say the same for Kirby and the others. For some reason they were acting as if they were hiding something so I concluded that they were throwing a 'surprise' party for me. They weren't very good at hiding it if you ask me.

"Good morning, Dee! Dee, good morning! Wake up, wake up, wake up!"

The day full of insanity started with those three sentences. I opened my eyes to see Marx in my face. He startled me so I accidentally slapped him.

"Ah! Holy Scarfies! What was that for?" Marx stumbled backwards. There was a red mark on his cheek where I hit him.

I rubbed my eyes. "Oh, sorry, that was totally unintentional."

"Yeah, you make that sound reeeally convincing," he chuckled, "Anyway, I'm not gonna be mad because I've decided to make your day nothing but enjoyable!"

"Awww, that's so sweeet," I got out of the bed and opened my arms so that I could hug him, "I need to take a shower first, though. So do you, for that matter."

Marx grinned and pulled away. "Done! I got up at three so I could!" His smile turned into a frown, "Well, that and I couldn't sleep 'cuz I was shaking with excitement!"

"I would say 'Awww' and hug you again, but I really want to hurry up and take a shower! What are we doing, anyway?"

He closed his eyes and was quiet for a long time. He finally opened them and smiled at me. "Um, I guess we're going to spend the day together—just you and me! I'm not sure _exactly _what we're doing since that's up to you."

"Awww…when do I get my present?" I asked.

"Not until we get home," He frowned again, "I really hope you like it."

I patted his head. "I'm sure I will. I need to take that shower now, so, I'll be back out here in a while."

"Okay. Shoo, become clean!"

I laughed and entered the bathroom, closing and locking the door. As I took my shower I wondered what we should do that day. Not that there was much to do, but it was still hard to decide. As I dried myself off, I knew exactly what I wanted.

"Marx!"

"Dee? Are you ready? What do you want to do? Invade Dedede's castle and steal his chocolate?"

I stared blankly at him. "No, though that does sound fun. I want to ride in a hot air balloon!"

Marx's already big eyes widened. "Huh? That's crazy!" He paused, "Not that I can say much…except I'm afraid of heights."

"You have wings, doofus! You can't honestly be afraid of heights!"

"Well…you can call it ironic, but I am in this form and I can't change 'cuz you think that other thingy is ugly." He sighed, looking sad.

I shook my head and felt as sad as he looked. "Well, I only saw you in your 'soul' form, right? I don't know what the other one looks like."

Marx exhaled, "Uh, it isn't that much prettier, just sayin'." He tilted his head sideways and stared at me endearingly, "Do we really have to? And where would we go to get one anyway?"

"Don't worry, I know where."

I pretty much dragged Marx to the lot where they sold the balloons. It was a small distance from our village, but there were a lot of hills and when we finally reached our destination we were both ready to collapse. So that's just what we did.

"Can I help you kids?" a woman's voice said.

I opened my eyes but I had no energy to do much else. Marx, on the other hand, got up and stared at me. It was a bit unnerving.

"She's…out," he gasped, "Now I…run!" He scurried down the lush green hill to the bottom only to faint halfway there. I sat up and laughed loudly at him.

"Marx you doof!" I followed him down and fell to his side, "Are you alright?"

No reply.

"Marx?" I lifted his head and held him close to myself, "I love you! Please wake up!"

Still no reply.

"MARX! WAKE UP!"

"AAGH! Dee, don't yell. You hurt my ears." Marx opened his eyes and with no warning snuggled into me. I let go of him, blushing.

"Hey! That woman is still waiting up there, you know! We should get going!" I said nervously while waving my arms in the air.

He got up and glared at the hill. "Crap. We have to conquer that thing again.

We reached the top again, after many complaints from Marx. I felt like collapsing once more, but this time I controlled myself. The woman from earlier was still there, waiting for us. She looked almost like one of the fairies living on Ripple Star. Not that I knew any besides Ribbon.

"Hello again. Welcome to Peachy's Hot Air Balloon outlet. Would you care to rent or buy today?"

Marx stared at her with an admiration that made me angry. "Well, hey there. What's your name?"

She chuckled and tucked her blue hair behind her ears. "I own this business. I'm Peachy!"

"Oooh…Wow…you're pretty…I mean, your hot air balloons are pretty!" He blushed which should have aggravated me, but it was just too cute to make me angry

"What are your names?" She asked me this, but Marx answered before I could.

"I'm Marx and this is…well, jeez, it doesn't matter! She's just a Waddle Dee who ISN'T my girlfriend, by the way. Yep, she's tagging along with me today for no apparent reason!" He leaned in close to Peachy as if to whisper, "Personally I think she has a crush on me and who wouldn't?"

I felt angry but I knew he would regret this later. "That's right, I'm nobody and I should just leave," I sighed sadly, "It isn't like Marx lives with me and relies on me for everything and we're the best friends ever and there might be something going on between us. No, that's not it at all."

Peachy laughed. "Okay, I'll just leave you two to find a balloon you can rent for a day. I'll send someone to fly it for you," she then added before leaving, "Have a nice date, sweethearts."

Marx looked as if he just lost something. He then turned to scowl at me. "You sabotaged my relationship with a hot woman! You totally suck!"

"You deserved that. Asshole!" I smacked him in the head, "She's too old for you, anyway. What are you? Seventeen? She must be about thirty."

"Do you get some sadistic enjoyment out of hitting me?" He hissed.

I glared at him with extreme anger radiating from my eyes (Okay, that's a bit extreme, but…I wish it was true!). "I thought you were going to make me happy today. Isn't that what you said?"

Marx kept scowling. "I really hate—" he didn't get a chance to finish his sentence because I kissed him on the lips. It didn't last very long and was overall pretty lame, but for some reason he fell to the ground with surprise.

"Marx!"

"Ehhhhhhhh….Deeeeeee…" He got up and shook his head, "Ugh, how can you kiss me if you have no mouth?"

I stared back at him blankly. "Is that really all you're concerned about?"

Marx smiled. "Well, I saw it coming. After all, you must think I'm the most adorable thing in existence, right?" He coughed, probably wanting to take back what he just said, "I've never really liked physical contact though."

"You seem to like hugs enough," I sighed, trying to understand what he meant.

"Yeah but, that's just…falling in love is wrong. After all, the only way to fall is down."

I stared at him blankly again. "Where the hell do you get these lines?"

"Songs…but that isn't the point!" Marx turned away with a distant look in his eyes, "I just don't want to waste time on something that won't work out in the end."

"Says the one who came up with some insane plan to take over the world which failed, twice!" I shook my head, "And you can't even take chances on a girl that loves you. Coward. Selfish coward."

He frowned. "It would be better if no one could feel love for anyone. Even themselves. Love just ruins everything. Then the people who aren't loved will be alright. I should've wished for that. In a way I think Zero was right."

"That's horrible! I can't even bear to think about it!" I stopped for a moment and thought about what was going on, "Hey, I know what you're doing! You want me to hate you so you're trying to make me angry!"

"Self preservation matters more than anything…or, not to me, but to you it should! If I were you I would stay away from me at all costs…but then who would be me? Oh my freaking god! Someone would take over my body while I was being you!" Marx became silent, "No, that wouldn't happen."

I smacked myself in the face to make sure this wasn't some freakish nightmare. "Okay, can we just forget this ever happened and go for a ride in a balloon?"

He nodded, then shook his head. "No, I don't want to stay with someone who thinks I hate them."

"I don't think you hate me!" I yelled, "We argue a lot don't we?"

"Sadly yes," Marx smiled miserably (if that's possible). He turned to the sky suddenly and his face lit up, "Hey, look at that!"

I followed his gaze and my eyes widened. A bunch of colourful hot air balloons were flying into the sky at once. "Oh wow…they look like little bent pieces of a rainbow with baskets under them."

"Nice simile…I think," Peachy flew up to us again, "I did it just for you two lovebirds," She stopped just to snicker, "We don't have many customers, so I thought 'well, what the hey?'"

Marx grinned though not at anyone specifically. "Happy birthday, Dee. Do you want to go up in one now?"

I shook my head. "No, I just want to sit here and watch them with you." I turned to Peachy, "I'm sorry, but I just—"

"Oh no, I understand. Feel free to do whatever it is you like!" With that she left again and probably for the last time. I sat down and grabbed the ends of Marx's hat to pull him down next to me.

"Hey! That hurt!" he glared at me with fake anger, "Meanie!"

I laughed and hugged him tightly. "I really love you! I really, really, really, really do! You make me feel so silly!"

"Mm-hm, I can see why. I'm the most awesome person ever, after all! I'm everything a girl could ever want in a guy—charming, sweet, funny, cute…"

"Not to mention egotistical, for goodness sake!" I punched him playfully, "I want to hate you sometimes, but I can never bring myself to do it."

Marx grinned at me. "Let's just watch." He looked up and I decided to do the same. The number of balloons in the air gradually grew until, at the end of the day, they all returned to wherever it was they came from. By this time Marx had fallen asleep and was resting on my side, snoring quietly. I nudged him awake and he got up, following me home.

**Author's note: OMG. First kiss O.O! Oh, the song Marx took that line from was Up In the Stars by Swimming With Dolphins (The title of this chapter was also taken from that song). Next chapter will be Dee's birthday-part 2! Uh, I won't call it that, of course. **

**By the way, I own Peachy (never mind the name…). I really enjoyed writing about her for some reason. I don't even know what she looks like…but she totally teased Marx about his lame flirting skills, so she rocks (Lolz)! I might add her somewhere else…I think you know what I'm going to say now: PLEASE REVIEW!^^**


	7. Insert Your heart

**Author's note: Dee's birthday-part 2 (not really)! Meta Knight isn't there, just so any fans of him can skip this chapter…**

**MK fans: (Leave)**

**Dokeshisan: Hey! I was kidding, jeez -_-! Anyway, I was contemplating what the sequel should be like and I know what I'm doing! The only thing I can tell you now is that I'm writing it in Marx's POV. I've always wondered what it would be like in his head XD! Probably scary, but that isn't the point. Okay, R&R!^^**

6

Insert Your Heart

"Sunny Peach!"

I felt a wave of Déjà vu hit me as I walked in my door that evening with Marx. I remembered last week at Meta Knight's mistaken birthday party, except it was 'Mauve Diadem' back then. I turned to Marx who was grinning so wide it looked as if his mouth was too big for his face.

"You knew about this, didn't you?" I asked him angrily, "How could you?"

"Well, I said yes to them, that's how. Don't you mean 'why'?"

"Aren't you happy?" Kirby asked from the crowd, "We worked really hard."

I nodded sadly. "Yeah, I'm happy but I really didn't want a party." I let out a sigh and turned back to Marx so I could glare at him, "You betrayed me!"

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. I can tell you're _really _mad at me! Come on, you know you want a party, you know you do, yes you do…"

"Stop! You can be really annoying," I turned to everyone else, "I'm sorry. Can you all leave? I want to have this day to myself."

"But we haven't eaten the cake yet!" Kirby groaned. The whole crowd turned to him, "What's wrong?"

"And I came all the way from Ripple Star for nothing!" A cute little fairy with pink hair and clear wings flew up to me just to say this.

I stared at her in awe. "Ribbon! I thought you already came this month, so then…you came just for my birthday!"

"I know, right? I decided I actually wanted to be your friend! I can't tell why…" Ribbon smiled and blushed for some reason.

"Who're you? I don't know you." Marx said flatly, obviously listening to our conversation.

"I know you though. Hmm, isn't that weird," She laughed then suddenly stopped, "Wait, are you two..?"

"It's complicated!" we both answered in unison and stared at each other. I felt my cheeks turn red as I looked at the rest of the room. The guests were all talking amongst themselves.

"I made a cake!" Kawasaki walked through my front door and pretty much shoved Marx, Ribbon and I out of the way, "Ta-da! Oh, hi Dee!"

I shook my head and studied the cake. It was the same style as Meta Knight's was, but with different colours. Namely green and yellow.

"Eeeew, a green cake," I heard someone say.

In response Kirby said, "Who cares? It's still cake!"

On that note there was a stampede on the way to the cake. "Why do I feel like I'm reliving Meta Knight's party two weeks ago?" I asked out loud.

"Is every birthday like this?"

I scowled at Marx for answering my question with a question. "Yeah, I guess so. People are too happy…" I paused, "Oh no, I'm starting sound like you! You've turned me into a pessimist! Noooo!"

I heard Ribbon giggle next to me. "I think that's cute! I wish I could be with Kirby long enough to start sounding like him."

"I wonder how it happens…maybe we spent so much time together that we merged into one person! Oooooh!" Marx grinned, strangely excited.

"No thanks. That thought isn't very attractive," I chuckled and took a step toward the cake, "But this cake does look good. I have to admit that."

A plate was shoved in my face. "Here Dee! I got you a piece without eating it!" I looked at Kirby and gave him a sunny expression.

"Thank you," I took the cake, "I hope it tastes better than it looks."

"Of course it will," Marx said, "But only because you take the cake, Dee!" He burst out laughing and wouldn't stop for some time, "Sorry, bad pun."

I nodded. "I'll pretend that you didn't say that since you were just clowning around and being embarrassing."

"That was a bad pun too," He cackled again and sneezed, "Ah, bless me."

"What's a pun?" Kirby asked. He really didn't know much.

"A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a 'humorous' comment using different meanings of one word or words that sound alike."

I stared at Marx. "What? Are you a dictionary or something?"

He blushed. "Oh, well I used to read a lot. I read the dictionary twice and five encyclopedias out of a collection of twelve." He looked down at his feet and sighed, "I didn't have much of a life."

Kirby frowned. "I still don't get it, but that's okay! I don't care!" he did a little dance after saying this and I laughed in spite of myself.

"Okay, okay," Marx interrupted the random dancing moment loudly, "it's time to open the presents!"

"It is?" I asked, "Since when?"

He stuck his tongue out. "Since I said so, of course, and don't tell me that I'm being childish either! I really want you to see my present." He gave me puppy dog eyes which made me feel like melting. I swear he could manipulate anyone this way.

"Okay, I'll eat my cake while opening them," With that I stuffed the whole piece into my, er, well, you know, "Oh, now I don't need to."

Marx's sweet face suddenly twisted into a crazed, psychotic expression. "How do you eat it? The food? How? With no mouth, HOW?" He stared at me, "How do you do it? HOW?"

"Hey! Get out of my face! I don't know!" I paused to think about this, "How do I do it?"

"That was my QUESTION!" He hissed, "Answer me!"

I shook my head. "I guess it's just one of those mysteries in the world," I pointed at Kirby, "Sort of like 'where does his food go?'"

"Oh," Marx frowned, "I hope someone finds out someday. Until then, you need to open your presents!" I sighed at his mood swing and hugged him so tight I feared that he couldn't breathe.

"Okay, who's is first?" I asked after letting go of Marx.

"Mine!" Ribbon grabbed a red box and handed it to me, "Here you are!"

Five teddy bears (One being Ribbon's) and two cookie jars later I picked up the last present. It was violet with red and blue shiny bow on top. "Gee, I wonder who gave me this one?" I said sarcastically, staring at Marx.

"Open it! Please, please, please, please..?" He smiled at me innocently though he also seemed a bit sad.

"Okay," I nodded and tore off the wrapping before opening the box. I took out a fancy, porcelain container with the words _'Insert Your Heart' _engraved in calligraphy above a small indent. I tried to open the container but failed horribly. "AAARGH."

"No," Marx sat down next to me and smiled almost as if he was teasing me, "You close your eyes and put your paw in the thingy."

"'Thingy?'" I asked, though I still did as he said. As soon as I did it began to make music. It was a sad, haunting sound that made me feel almost nostalgic. When the music stopped the box unlocked itself, so I lifted the lid. Inside was a doll version of me and one of Marx.

"I made them myself!" He grinned, "It was hard. Don't ask how I did it."

My eyes welled up with tears. "Aaaaaaaw, that's so SWEET!" I wrapped him in arms and wouldn't let him go.

I saw Ribbon pick the dolls up and study them. "Wow, these are so cute. I seriously covet them." She looked at Marx, "Can you make one of me and Kirby? When we're far away from each other we could snuggle a miniature version and—ooh!" She hugged the dolls as tightly as I was hugging Marx and began to cry.

"Ribbon!" I let go and ran toward her, "Don't cry, when other people cry I cry too!" I started to cry, as I said.

Simirror walked over from wherever it was. "Why are you guys crying? Hey, Fumu and Bun aren't here, are they?"

"You heartless girl!" I pointed at Simirror, "You wouldn't understand!"

"Um, okay," She turned to Kirby, "They couldn't come, I guess?"

He shook his head. "No, their parents wouldn't let them. I wonder why…Oh well!"

Simirror shrugged. "Okay, thanks," she left as I wiped my eyes. I looked up at Ribbon who also stopped crying.

"Marx, you have to make them dolls now!" I swung around and hissed at Marx. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Jeez, you just gave me a heart attack, but alright." He came to stand next to me, "After thinking about what Simirror said, Meta Knight didn't come either."

"Kirby?" Ribbon started, "You didn't tell him about the party, did you?"

Kirby placed his paw on his chin and looked thoughtful for a long time. "Oh foo! I knew I forgot something!"

We all groaned. "That's okay; it's only one small thing, right?" I gave everyone a cheery expression. They all seemed to agree.

The rest of the party was pretty boring. I stayed with Marx for most of the time, though not by choice. He just kind of followed me around, being annoying. A few times I felt like yelling at him but I could never really bring myself to do it. Everyone left at around nine and I was forced to say goodbye to each of them, which was almost as annoying as Marx was.

"Dee, do we need to clean up after them?" Marx asked while he sat on the bed. I looked around the room. Streamers and crumbs were scattered all over the floor, not to mention wrapping paper. I groaned.

"No, they're coming back tomorrow to clean for us," I fell down next to him, "Did you know most of the people who came didn't bring me a present?"

"That sucks. Asses," He laid down and closed his eyes. "Okay, goodnight then."

"Hey wait!" I nudged Marx gently but he didn't wake up, "Get off the bed, I want it tonight!" He didn't respond so I picked him up and placed him on the floor, where he continued sleeping. I climbed into bed and wrapped the covers around myself, falling asleep to Marx's snoring.

**Author's note: Short, boring and meaningless. It was really easy to write (as you might guess). Things will start to get interesting soon.**

**Hm, about the last chapter…I was going to use lines from my favourite song (Which is where the idea originated), but it didn't seem to fit anywhere.**

**Meta Knight: I'm really not in this much…**

**Dokeshisan: Too bad.**

**Meta Knight: -_-**

**Marx: Review, or we'll eat MK!**

**Meta Knight: Uh-! O_o**

**Dokeshisan: Please review!**


	8. Loss of the King

**Author's note: Excitement is here. We hope—**

**Audience: (Groans)**

**Dokeshisan: Hey, don't jump to conclusions! What's going on isn't obvious to Dee, but she suspects something. There is also another pairing in the future. It's two final bosses, just so you know. If you can guess, you get to hug Marx!**

**Marx: Yeah! Wait, what?**

**Dokeshisan: Never mind. Just give it a try and guess after you read!**

7

Loss of the king and...

It was everywhere in the papers the next week. Dedede disappeared. When I first read the headlines I thought it was probably some gimmick he came up with to get attention, but after a while I started to worry. I wished for years that our king would disappear, but when it really happened I felt almost guilty.

"What do you think happened?" I asked Marx the morning after the headline came out. He was silently drinking his fourth coffee that morning, probably not caring that our monarch was gone.

"Maybe he was assassinated. Or maybe he ran away. Or maybe he was kidnapped. Or, or cloth eating aliens abducted him and stole his clothes for lunch and sucked his brains out and now he's running around their planet with no brain! OWWOOO!" He made a face and went back to sipping his coffee.

I grabbed Marx's mug. "Okay, no more of that. You'll be hyper all day if I don't stop you now." He scowled at me and stuck his tongue out. Soon after he became distracted by something outside of the window and started to smile again.

"Hey look, a butterfly! Oooh, it makes me want to fly, FLYYY!" I smacked him in the side of the head, "Ow, what was that for?"

"Please stay on topic. I wonder what really happened to Dedede."

Marx sneezed. "Oh, jeez I dunno. Why are you asking me? I don't even understand why you care so much."

"Bless you and I can't answer that question. It's just that he's been there so long and it feels weird without him." I sighed angrily. At times Marx and I were completely in sync and even start finishing each other's sentences in conversation. This wasn't one of those times.

"I guess," He looked deep in thought for a moment, "I mean, I totally lost my job. That sucks."

"You don't get it. I didn't expect you to." I picked my purse up and headed for the front door, "I need to get to work. You're sneezing a lot lately, take some cold medicine and go to bed."

Marx grinned devilishly as I left. "Okay mom, I'll be good!" After he said this I stopped in the doorway just to glare at him.

"Well, excuse me for caring! Have a nice day." With that I finally left.

I trudged through the day, wanting to fall asleep for most of it. When lunch arrived I felt like collapsing. Not that work was any harder that day. In fact, there weren't many customers at all.

"Not many people are out today," I said as I sat down in a chair at the table where Kirby, Simirror and Ribbon were. Ribbon decided to stay for another week which is why she was still here.

"I know. They're probably panicking or whatever." Simirror sighed, "How does Marx feel about this Dedede thing?"

I shook my head. "He's actually kind of happy. Isn't that messed up?"

"That's heartless," Kirby stated. I expected him to say something else afterward but he didn't.

"I can't imagine telling the fairy queen this. She would panic and come here herself," Ribbon swiped a piece of sushi from Kirby's plate. He just smiled at her.

I laughed. "I still can't imagine anyone wanting to be in a relationship with him. I guess even bad people need someone to love them."

"Yes, I'm sure you'd know all about that," Simirror glowered at me, "I have to go now." She got up and walked away without even saying goodbye. As she did this she nearly banged into Marx who was coming in.

"What's her problem?" He asked, sitting next to me, "Did someone piss her off?"

"I don't know. Something is weird about her, isn't there?" I scratched the top of my head in thought.

Ribbon smiled. "I'm sure we're just thinking too much! It really can't be anything!" She looked down suddenly in sadness, "Unless, things that are going on with her are connected to the disappearances…maybe she's possessed by—"

"Oh yay! Let's pretend Ribbon wasn't about to say Dark Matter! Lalalalala!"

I stared at Marx. "What's wrong with Dark Matter? Is there something I need to know?"

"Oh crap," He smirked, "I guess I should tell you now. After that last time Kirby killed me I went to Hell. It was like some dark room with nothing in it. Ever. Anyway, I met Zero there. So it can't possibly be Dark Matter."

"Actually," Kirby started, "Dark Matter can control itself. It doesn't need Zero, but if Zero is there it can make them do what it wants. It can also create Dark Matter."

"Like you're some big expert, right? You couldn't even care less how Zero felt. You were too busy trying to kill it. It just wanted love and you totally IGNORED it!" Marx hissed at Kirby, totally enraged.

I looked at the two of them. "Marx, if you escaped from there, Zero could've too, right?"

He shook his head. "Zero gave its chance to escape to me. It really wasn't that bad a creature."

"Not that bad? It tried to destroy my home planet and yours!" Ribbon sounded angry which is something I never heard before.

"So?" Marx whimpered, "We all do things we regret. I should know, right?"

"Everything is about you, isn't it? Even if we're talking about something else you always bring it back to yourself!" Kirby said this very matter-of-factly.

"NO!" Marx stood up, "Why would you say something like that? I hate myself! And, why should I hate myself? It isn't me who kills people without giving them a chance! You ASSHOLE!" 

"Hey, can you guys not fight? As if life isn't hard enough as it is! Please don't…" I grabbed Marx's hat and pulled him onto the chair again.

"It's okay," Kirby smiled, "I won't argue with a psychotic clown. There's no way to win."

"Oh, how immature. You want me to be angry so you're picking on me. I won't fall for it," Marx growled but I could tell he was irritated. Very irritated.

I got up and kissed his head. "I'll be getting off soon, please wait for me."

"Yeah, sure. I'll wait with _them_." He pretty much snarled the word 'Them.' I laughed and left for the kitchen.

As I expected, Marx didn't wait for me. Kirby and Ribbon stood in front of the door after I finished, forever loyal. I waved and gave them a cheery look.

"It's snowing!" I pointed outside, "But how? It's the first week of September!"

"I know, right?" Ribbon shivered, "I wish I brought a scarf!" She hugged Kirby, "Keep me warm Kirby!"

"Okay!" He smiled.

I laughed and opened the door. "Where did Marx go anyway? I thought he was staying."

She let go of Kirby and followed me out. "He said he was going to do something for you. I don't know what."

"Dee!"

Marx ran over to us with a bag in his mouth. I noticed that he was wearing a scarf. "Oh look, speak of the devil…" I shook my head.

"Scarves and hats," He dropped the bag at my feet, "I knew it was going to snow, so I borrowed them from the librarian."

"The librarian?" Kirby asked while grabbing a red scarf and hat.

Marx nodded. "Oh yeah, she knits all the time for her grandchildren when they come around the New Year."

I took a green scarf and wrapped it snugly around myself. I turned to Ribbon who was wearing three rainbow coloured scarves and a matching hat. "Cold much?" I asked.

She laughed. "What? Aren't you Dee? You don't even have a hat on!"

Now it was my turn to laugh. "I don't get cold easily! It's kind of weird."

I felt Marx nudge me with his head. "We need to go this way," he faced one of the snowy roads and I nodded.

"Okay," I waved goodbye to Ribbon and Kirby, "I'll see you guys tomorrow if we aren't snowed in!"

As Marx and I walked down the road we didn't talk much. It was almost unnerving, so halfway there I just had to speak and break the silence.

"How do you predict the weather? It's amazing!"

He turned to me and grinned hopefully. "Really? You don't think I'm a freak because of it?"

"No, of course not! How do you do it?" I was actually curious about this. It wasn't just some small talk subject I came up with (Well, it was that too but…).

"I dunno how. I always could ever since I was little. Other kids used to tease me about it." He smirked, "I vowed to get revenge on them!"

"Well, don't." I wrapped one of my arms around him, "Then I would have to be on your side all through it and that's hard."

He giggled. "Nah, I won't. I think it's better to let go of those things."

I let go of him as we reached the end of the road. "Hey, I see someone." I ran through the snow drifts and nearly tripped up. I squinted at the creature standing in front of my house. It was a girl that looked a lot like Kirby except that she was snow white with a pair of black angel wings folded on her back. She was wearing a collar like that you would see on a Chilly and a crown for some reason. She turned around and stared at me with her green eyes.

I felt Marx's presence suddenly next to me. "Nikki," He breathed.

**Author's note: Yeah, I added an OC. She'll have a relationship with everyone's favourite knight later on^^! How Marx knows her is a mystery until next chapter XD! Oh, you still have to guess the final boss pairing. You won't get any hints from here besides they're of opposite genders…er, kind of.**

**Oh, one more thing, HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!**

**Now, review please.**


	9. Nikki and the Darkness

**Author's note: Here's the next chapter and a few answers…except the secret pairing won't be revealed until the next one (sorry). Nikki…is kind of random. She just pops up from nowhere and becomes a part of everyone's life. Especially Meta Knight's XD! I'll try to put him in this more, I really will.**

8

Nikki and the darkness

"Who are you? How do you know Marx? Where did you come from? Why are you here? What are you doing in front of my house?"

Nikki laughed cruelly. "Is this your girlfriend? Who in their right mind would like you?"

Marx looked at me. "I knew her since I was a kid. She used to tease me continuously."

"Oh," I exhaled. I was secretly glad she wasn't his ex-girlfriend, "Why are you here then? I don't get it."

She smiled. "Can we get inside your house? It's really cold."

I nodded and opened the front door. We went inside and took off our scarves and such. Marx and Nikki sat at the table while I went to make some hot chocolate. When I returned they were far from facing each other.

"So, can you begin your story?" I asked, sitting down on the chair next to Marx.

Nikki looked up at me. "Oh yeah! I was in my house one day reading a magazine. There was an article in this magazine on knights and stuff and I was like 'I gotta learn that!' so that's what I did. I ran all the way to the mountains to train in a Chilly community. They were really nice about it and all. They even gave me this thing!" She pointed to the collar around her neck.

"Yeah okay, what's that got to do with us?" Marx asked, his chin resting on the table.

"Well," She continued, "when I returned home, one of my friends told me of this amazing, handsome and mysterious knight living in Dreamland. I was like 'OMG, have to meet him and make him fall in love with me!' so I went back to training to impress him with my skill."

"Again, WHAT THE HELL?" He lifted his head off the table and glared at her, "Why were you training with Chillies anyway?"

Nikki smiled, satisfied with herself for making Marx angry. "You know, you're actually kind of cute when you're mad." She giggled and sent him an air kiss.

"Please keep going," I sighed. She nodded and turned back to me.

"So, I went from training to here in Dreamland. On the way I heard about this jester guy who lost his mind and used Kirby to try and take over the world. I was like, in my mind, 'I know someone who fits that description!' So I looked into it and found out I was right and that he survived his two deaths! It turns out you live in Dreamland with the knight, which was awesome. After this I'm going to meet him!" Nikki clapped and let out a squeal.

"Are you talking about Meta Knight?" I asked, "because he isn't that impressive."

She sighed lovingly. "Ooooh, I can't wait to meet him!" after this sentence was said she squealed again.

"I almost forgot how much I hate you," Marx spat, "I hope you two don't become friends."

I laughed. "No need to worry! You're leaving Dreamland soon anyway, right Nikki?"

Nikki shook her head. "Oh no, I'm going to train with Meta and live here! We could even get married and have little babies! I bet they'd be so CUTE!" She was about to squeal one more time when I interrupted her.

"Okay, it's almost time for supper so you should leave," I took her empty mug and mine into the kitchen (well, there's actually no kitchen. Just one big room and a bathroom.). I heard her follow me.

"Hey! I want to stay here tonight!" She grabbed my arm and pulled me over to her, "Please let me stay, I promise not to be mean to your boyfriend!"

"Don't believe her!" Marx ran over to us, almost tripping over his own feet, "She looks cute but she lies all the time! It's a trick, a TRICK!"

Nikki snickered. "Clumsy as usual. You haven't changed at all from when you were, like, five!" She stepped closer to him and cupped his face in her paws, "Except you don't look quite as awkward as you did then. In fact, you're attractive."

"Dee, please save me. I might be tempted to kill her." Marx glared at Nikki with such anger I thought that she would end up being the one needing to be saved.

"Omigosh!" She pulled away from Marx and darted for the front door. After she left I let out a tired sigh.

Marx scowled. "People call me evil but she, yes that sweet little girl, SHE IS EVIL!" he growled and walked over to the bed, "I'm sleeping in here tonight and there's NOTHING you can do about it!"

"What? Don't take your anger out on me!" I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug, "I'm sorry if you don't like her, but I'm sure we won't run in to her much."

He smiled and nuzzled me. "Okay. I'm sorry for losing my temper. You're right, she probably won't want to see us much."

The next day I worked hard because there were about a zillion customers. I couldn't figure out why it was so busy at first, then I realized that after Dedede disappeared his workers didn't have anything to do.

"You're screwed," I ran past Marx, who was sitting at the counter, "Are you on break soon?"

"Eh? Oh, in fifteen minutes! Wait for me!" I darted away and served people for my remaining time. When my break approached I sat next to Marx, exhausted.

"What do you think happened to Nikki?" He asked, sipping some kind of green liquid. To tell the truth I didn't want to know what it was.

I shook my head. "I don't know. What about Simirror? I haven't seen her in a long time. Do you think she—"

"No," Marx interrupted, "She couldn't have disappeared."

"I—" before I could say anything the doors burst open and Nikki made her entrance, "Oh, look who's here."

"You guys!" She walked over to us, "Where does Meta Knight live?"

"Is that really all you care about?" Marx smirked, "He lives in the castle, of course."

Nikki patted his head. "Thanks sweetie! I'll be off then! See you another time, after I'm Meta's beloved!" She skipped off with everyone in the restaurant staring at her.

"Is she out of her mind?" I asked Marx, who was blushing for some reason.

"She thinks it's endearing," He growled, "I can't believe she called me sweetie. Ass. I hate her."

I studied his angry face. "What does it mean?"

His cheeks grew redder and I realized he wasn't blushing. He was angry. "In third grade the teacher called me that and from then on it was my nickname. It wasn't one of those names you want either, they used it when they made fun of me."

"I'm sorry…" I felt my eyes well up with tears, "I'm so s-sorry. That isn't fair!" I burst into tears and Marx nudged me.

"I don't want you to cry," He grumbled, his face close to mine, "Please stop. Your tears are hurting me too."

I heard a fist slam. Marx and I both turned to Kawasaki who was standing behind the counter. "Hey you two! I'm going to close in a while so you're off for the day, Dee."

"What? But all these customers are here! You can make a fortune!" I gestured at the crowd of people eating.

"Yeah, but it's exhausting our staff so I'm closing."

I was about to argue when Marx interrupted. "Okay Dee, let's just go home and get supper going. Alright, see ya Kawasaki!" He began to shove me outside which barely gave me a chance to pick up my purse.

"Marx, can you stop pushing me," I stepped away from him, "Um, I've been meaning to talk to you privately."

"Oh, is this going to be embarrassing?" He asked, chuckling, "Or is it important?"

"It's important. What do you think is going on here? Please answer seriously."

He began to walk and I followed him. "In Dreamland now?" I nodded, "Okay, I think something messed up is happening. I can't tell you what it is, if you're wondering. I have nothing to do this. Why am I saying that? It's written all over your face. You blame me." He stopped to scowl at me.

"I don't blame you! What gave you that idea?" I stepped back and yelled at him, "Stop trying to pick a fight with me!"

Marx's face softened. "I'm not. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so goddamn SORRY!" He looked down at his shoes and began to shake, probably crying.

"It's okay," I sighed, "You shouldn't be so defensive. You'll just end up hurting yourself." I wrapped him in an embrace and he slowly stopped sobbing.

"I know," he pulled away from me, "I can't help it. I wanna stop. Really."

I shook my head. "Again, you're only like it with me…" I said this more to myself than I did to Marx.

"I know. It's who I really am and I can reveal that to you because you love me." After saying this he snuggled into me affectionately as we walked.

"Okay." I dug around in my purse for the house key once we reached the end of our route. I opened the front door and walked in.

"What did you say okay to?" Marx asked, sitting down at the table.

I waved my paw at him. "Oh, nothing! I'll make us some meat loaf."

After supper we went to sleep as usual. Marx got the bed that night, which probably doesn't matter to you. I slept soundly on the floor with sweet dreams of adorable little creatures like Scarfies and Minnies.

The next morning we both woke up late. This couldn't matter less to Marx. Then again, he didn't have a job to keep anymore. So he sat there on the bed, watching me intently like a little kid watching their mother. It was actually quite cute.

"Okay," I gasped after hurrying all over the house to get ready, "I'll get going to work now!"

He got up and kissed my cheek. "I'm going out later too, so I'll meet you when you're done for the day."

I nodded. "Yes, love you!" I grabbed my purse and threw open the front door. As soon as I did I wanted to scream. The sky was a giant dark void with black clouds coming out of the center. When I examined the clouds closely I noticed that they each had a giant eye in the middle. Dark Matter. I turned around slowly to look at Marx. "Ummm, you should come see this."

Marx got up and stood next to me. As soon as he saw the creatures the blood drained from his face. "Well, that isn't something you see every day."

**Author's note: Well, there you have it. The Dark Matter, by the way, isn't being controlled by Zero (Or Zero two). No. It's someone much more sinister…You'll find out soon enough (It isn't Nightmare, BTW).**

**Until then, I don't know what to tell you. The next chapter will be more interesting. I promise! ;)**


	10. Matter of Darkness

**Author's note: So, why did I call it Dissimulation? Good question! It means to lie or hide your intentions (in short, yeah, pretty much), which goes with Marx really well. This is what they should've called Milky Way Wishes XD! Or not.**

**So, please R&R! The real villain is revealed in this chapter. Mwahahaha…or should I say Eee heeheehee..? Oh, and Meta Knight is going to be a major character from now on. Enjoy!**

9

Matter of Darkness

The country of Dreamland was being tortured by the Dark Matter. I was flying into the void in the sky on Marx's back and once we entered it we defeated all the creatures inside, saving the world! Er, not really. Instead of being brave we were running around in circles on my lawn, screaming our lungs out.

"DEEEE! WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!" Marx screeched while stopping, out of breath.

"BUT WHAT?" I shrieked back, also stopping. We stared at each other for a few seconds and then screamed in unison. I ran over to the house. "I'm going to collect all my precious belongings. Then we try to find Kirby."

"Okay," Marx wheezed, dashing after me, "I'll stand guard at the door for any Dark Matter."

I nodded and went inside. I grabbed a few stuffed animals, my purse and the dolls Marx made and put them in a garbage bag. I then picked up my parasol just before I ran out the door. Marx seemed to be frozen in place so I dragged him along too.

"Come on! Hurry! Before the Dark Matter gets us!" I yelled at him. With that he started to run even quicker than me, "Hey, wait up!"

"Dee, I'm going to transform! When I do you grab onto my back, okay?"

I nodded and watched as he changed into what I believed to be his second form. He looked pretty much the same, but with wings. I jumped on his back, still holding my bag and parasol. He began to fly faster and I had to close my eyes in order to stop them from watering due to the air hitting them.

"Excuse—"

"Marx, a tree! STOOOP!"

We banged into the shrubbery and I heard footsteps running toward us. I looked up to see Meta Knight and Nikki hovering over us. I struggled to sit up and Marx did the same.

"What is it you were running from?" Meta Knight asked. I couldn't tell how he was feeling.

I looked down the road which seemed to be black and warped. "Um, nothing." I couldn't help but laugh for some reason.

"You make it sound stupid," Marx snickered, looking into my eyes. I punched him in the side.

"That's because you two _are _stupid! Right Meta Knight?" Nikki tried to hold his gloved hand but he pulled away.

"Er, so what do we do?" We were all avoiding the subject of what was going on at this moment, no matter how important it was. So I mentioned it.

"Hmm," Meta Knight began, "We should find Kirby. No, that isn't it. Let me contemplate."

We waited for minutes as he thought and the Dark Matter clouds continued to torture and possess people. Nikki kicked a rock around and I watched Marx who was gapping out.

"No, I was right. Let us find Kirby."

Marx groaned. "We wasted three minutes so you could tell us what we already know! Ass."

Meta Knight glared at him. "Is your answer to everything calling others a name?"

"Well, I have a low self esteem so I'm allowed to!" Marx stuck his tongue out and turned to me, smiling again, "Let's get going and stop wasting time with these things."

"Things? You called us things! Didja hear that Dee?" Nikki pointed at Marx as if she was a little brat blaming her brother for something.

At this point Meta Knight and I were probably on the same team. Meaning we were no longer in the conversation.

"You really haven't changed at all, Nikki."

"At least I'm not psychotic!"

"Psychotic?"

"Yeah, it means—"

"I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS!"

"Aw, you're all mad and cute…can I kiss you?"

"NOOOOO!"

I turned to Meta Knight. "Should we try to stop them or just leave them here?"

I heard him chuckle quietly. "Yes, we should stop them."

We walked over to Nikki and Marx and pulled them away from each other. Marx turned to me and grinned, showing his fangs. I hopped on his back. "We should split into two groups to find Kirby and everyone else. If we do, we return here with them."

Nikki and Meta Knight seemed to agree with this. She flew into the air first followed by him once his cape turned into a pair of bat wings. Marx and I were off right after that. We flew around for what felt like hours, searching the skies in circles.

"My wings are getting tired," Marx told me after a while, "Can we look on the ground now?"

"Stop whining! We need to keep going!" I wrapped my arms around his body and squeezed him really tight.

"Fine," Marx sighed as he kept flying. He slowed down for a second and stared at the ground, "I see something down there."

I squinted. "Oh yeah, something is moving. Go there!" After my instruction he fell through the air so fast I almost dropped everything. As we touched the ground Marx hovered lightly and looked around. I followed him closely.

He suddenly sniffed the air. "I smell…olives." He shook his head, "No, that's not it. It's salty though."

"Okay, you don't even have a nose, but I trust you." I heard something nearby and I turned around. I spotted Simirror standing behind us. It's just that something was…off about her.

"Simirror? She smells!"

I punched him. "Shut up," I waved at Simirror, "Hey! Over here!" She stared at us, then suddenly jumped in the air and flew toward us. "What? Simirror can't fly…EEK!" she blasted us with a beam made of mirrors.

"She's possessed by Dark Matter! We need to defeat her!" Marx screamed, flying at her. She fainted on impact.

I hugged my parasol close. "It shouldn't be that easy, should it?"

It wasn't. From Simirror's limp body a dark cloud appeared. A fog surrounded the matter and it emerged fully clad in armour and a robe with only its spiky black 'hair' sticking out. A sword came out from under its robe.

"Oh crap. Dark Matter Knight." Marx turned to me, "let's beat this one together."

I nodded and tackled the knight with my parasol. It was wounded but retaliated by slashing me with its sword. I fell back, hurt. Marx flew past me and floated above the knight. It looked up but somehow decided he didn't matter. Marx opened his mouth and vomited out a blue ball. When it reached Dark Matter the ball froze it.

"There," he landed next to me, "freezing always works. Or, sometimes. We should do something else too, but who knows what—'

"THIS!" Simirror mirror cut the frozen Dark Matter Knight which broke the ice and split the evil thing in two. It made a gurgling sound and disappeared.

My eyes widened. "S-Simirror! Are you alright?" I ran toward her with my arms spread wide. We embraced and stood there like that for about five minutes.

"Omigod Dee, it was so scary to be possessed!" She exclaimed after we let go of each other, "It was right after Dedede disappeared when it started."

"Question," Marx flew up to us, "What now?" I stared at him. He stared at me. Then we just kept staring at each other.

"Uh, we should go back to where we started and tell Meta Knight and Nikki about this." I suggested. Before anything else could be said he scooped us both up and threw us onto his back. It was only a quick flight back to the starting point. Both Meta Knight and Nikki were standing there, waiting.

"Hey, hey, hey! Guess who we found!" Marx yelled as we touched the ground. Simirror jumped down and ran to Meta Knight, hugging him. Nikki looked confused (I probably did too).

"Huh? What's up with you two?" She asked with anger in her voice.

Simirror turned to Nikki and hugged her too. "I just want to show all my friends I love them and that Dark Matter doesn't change that! I don't even know you though!"

"She was possessed," I explained. Nikki nodded and squeezed Simirror back.

"What about me?" Marx whimpered next to me, "Am I not your friend anymore? Is that why you won't hug me?"

Simirror laughed. "Oh sorry! You were never really my friend but hey…" She wrapped her arms around him and he grinned.

"Alright," I clapped to get everyone's attention, "So we keep searching, right?"

"Hey lookie! SOMETHING IS COMING OUT OF THE SKY!" Marx looked horrified. I followed his gaze to the void in the sky. The Dark Matter were coming out of it in clumps which looked awfulenough without the ominous purple glow coming behind them. As the matters cleared a rainbow coloured orb floated down slowly, emitting the glow I mentioned.

"We should get closer," Meta Knight's cape turned into wings again and he flew toward it, followed by Nikki.

"We should go too," I said to Marx while getting on his back. Simirror got on too and we caught up with Nikki and Meta Knight. The five of us navigated through a dense forest until we finally reached the field directly below the void. In the middle of the clearing Kirby, Ribbon, Fumu and her brother Bun stood doing absolutely nothing.

I leapt off Marx and ran to them at full speed. "You guys! Are you okay?"

"Dee!" Kirby reached out and hugged me as I arrived at the center. Ribbon and Bun hugged me too while Fumu studied the giant orb carefully.

"Hey!" She yelled, "It's taking form!"

I glanced at the colourful mass. Sure enough, it was beginning to shape into something. I felt something wrap around me and I almost screamed. It was only Marx though, hugging me with his wings (Which was awkward, believe me!).

"What is that?" Bun asked his sister. Fumu frowned.

"I don't know," she seemed to be pondering this while it became a solid creature, "Oh!"

It was kind of blurry at first but the person was obviously female. She was dressed in a robe much like that of a Dark Matter Knight but it was violet and a bit more stylish. Her face was covered by a pink scarf and her witch hat. She had no limbs but for some reason had golden shoulder pads. None of these attributes drew my attention at first, just the bright yellow mouth thing on her grey stomach. Well, that and her blue hair which was horribly messy. If I were her I would want to brush it.

"Drawcia? What's she doing here?" Kirby asked, surprised.

Drawcia cackled. "It has been some time, has it not? My, you creatures here are so adorable! I loathed having to leave you all behind, so my Dark Matters revived me from that wretched painting I was locked in!"

"'Your' Dark Matters?" That was Meta Knight, always on top of everything.

"Yes, I'm taking care of them for my dearest, dearest Zero. Not that he asked me to, of course. I just decided that they deserved better than waiting for their master's return, poor things. So now they're doing my bidding!" Her voice was sickeningly sweet though she was obviously evil.

"What bidding?" Fumu was even quicker than Meta Knight this time. I was too surprised to do anything but watch. I think Marx was the same.

Drawcia looked at us cheerfully. "My, aren't you curious ones? See, my last dream was a failure so I decided to try again with one itsy bitsy change. I'm going to possess all of the denizens in Dreamland with Dark Matter! That way, no one can fight back and they won't ever disobey me! So, enjoy your new world of paint sweethearts, not that you have a choice!" She floated up and away. I collapsed into Marx.

"We're doomed! DOOMED!" I sobbed. He hugged me close and kissed my forehead gently. To tell the truth, this was the first time he ever needed to comfort me. It was usually the other way around.

I heard someone yell. I glanced up along with everyone else to see Kirby standing on a rock, looking determined. "We need to stay together now more than anything! If we don't, Drawcia has a better chance of succeeding!" He frowned, "But, um, we don't know anything about her yet. She's kinda mysterious."

"Hey," I looked up at Marx, who was still being hugged by me, "I knew her…before everything that, y'know…actually, never mind, it doesn't matter."

I smacked him. "Don't give us that! Tell us what you know! Anything helps."

He touched his cheek with one of his claws. "Ow, okay! I know that she's really timid and she'll do anything to get away from fighting. Um, as I'm sure you guessed, she has a weakness for anything cute and she hates being alone. There's more…I just forget."

"Wow, you're actually good at something other than looking dumb and getting angry," Nikki smirked, "How did you know her anyway? Were you in a relationship with an older woman? Tsk, tsk!" I wanted to laugh along with Nikki at this but then I remembered what happened on my birthday. I wouldn't doubt that Marx would do something stupid like that.

"No!" He snapped, blushing, "I would never do that! What a disgusting thought." I wanted to ask him about it but this was bad timing. We would just have to talk later.

"Okay!" Kirby did a fist pump, "Let's do this thing! We'll find out where Drawcia's hiding and until then…well, I guess we plan. YEAH! Even if we die we'll die fighting! Off to the castle!" No one asked why we were going to Dedede's castle, we just cheered and left.

I'm not sure if anyone else wondered but, why do all these bad things happen in Dreamland?

**Author's note: There ya go! About the relationship Marx had with Drawcia, that won't be touched on anymore than it has here. We just won't go there. If you think about it though, they have similar soul abilities and they both laugh as they battle Kirby…so I was just like 'what the hey! Make them know each other!'**

**Er, as for Nikki, I paired her name with darkness in the last chapter and she appeared at the same time as the Dark Matter but she has nothing to do with it. Sorry, she isn't evil! Anyway, I revealed the boss pairing (Too bad no one guessed…)! Remember how Drawcia called Zero her 'Dearest?'…XD (Evil laughter is heard)**

**Okay, please review! **


	11. Marx's not so mad plan

**Author's note: Hiya! I would like to tell you that I'm starting another story. It isn't the sequel to this. It's more of a side project. The first chapter will be up soon^^! **

**Anyway, I have nothing else to say. I'm totally speechless O.O! That's a first…please R&R this story!^^**

10

Marx's not-really-mad Plan

The castle was creepy when it was empty, but the throne in the throne room was a comfort in this creepiness. It was just so soft. When we first arrived there Marx and I raced for the seat and ended up sitting there together. Everyone else gathered in a messy circle around us.

"We must plan now," Meta Knight was the first to speak. I tried to ignore the fact that he was stating the obvious.

"Ooh, planning! Planning! I'm good at Planning!" Marx began to bounce up and down on the thrown. I gave him a hug.

Meta Knight looked tired. "Please, we must hurry. There is no time to waste."

Fumu nodded in agreement. "We need to come up with something really fast, so it would help if every individual here with supreme intellect would gather in one group. The others can come up with any battle tactics."

"Okay, so what's considered 'supreme intellect'? I'm guessing you…and Meta Knight…and Marx…anyone else?" I asked. Marx grinned at me.

"You said I'm smart! Yay!" he snuggled under my arm so I was forced to hug him again. Fumu smiled weakly. She probably thought we were wasting time, which was sort of true.

"Dee should join us as well," Meta Knight gave Fumu a fierce look for some obscure reason.

She nodded. "Okay, so you can come over too!"

"I'm not very smart though. Not like you guys." I sighed sadly, "I'm just normal."

"No! No! No!" Nikki suddenly shouted, "I'm smarter than she is and Marx too! They act nothing but stupid! They're Dummies compared to ME!"

Meta Knight glared at her. "Your fit goes unappreciated Nikki," He turned away, "Just because one acts stupid does not mean they _are _stupid."

"Oh gee," Nikki sniffled and wiped her eyes as if she were crying, "Y-you don't have to be so m-mean about it!"

"FAKE TEARS!" Marx stood up on the throne, "Called ya out on it! ASS! We can all see it now! You LYING, CONNIVING, LITTLE—"

"Okay! Let's pretend that didn't happen!" I covered Marx's mouth before he could say the rest. Nikki began to cry for real.

"You're so nasty! Go AWAY!" She began to sob her eyes out and Marx just growled at her.

I sighed and hopped off the throne. "Okay! Nikki, this isn't really helping much. Come here," I took her in my arms and cradled her for a while, "It's okay, he didn't mean to hurt you. Did you Marx?" I swung around to glare at him. He glared right back.

"Thank you Dee," Nikki sniffed, "You're my new best friend!" She wrapped her arms around me and I laughed.

Meta Knight cleared his throat. "As Dee said, there is no time to waste."

"Drawcia's lair would be underground. Underground and dangerous." We all turned to Marx as he spoke, "Once we find it we can use her weaknesses to our advantage. We can send someone, dare I say it, _cute _out near the opening to befriend her. They can pick up information on her plans and return here. Then we can counter those plans. Of course, with that there is always the chance of being found out. Especially if the person we send is a horrible liar. No, we need someone who knows her, someone who she _would _expect to team up with her, someone who's walked on the dark side, someone who can lie their ass off and not get caught…and they have to be sneaky…"

"In other words," Fumu began, "You."

He beamed. "Yep, that sounds about right! I'll go spy on her while you fight as many Dark Matter thingies as possible and then, if it doesn't work, I have a second plan. It's a bit drastic and risky, but it'll work!"

"So, if neither of them work out, then what's plan c?" Nikki asked.

Marx paused to think. "Um, brute force I guess. It's our last chance."

"What's the second one? You didn't tell us," I walked up to the throne, where he still sat.

"I want to summon Zero from hell or whatever that place was," He hopped down next to me, "He'll destroy Drawcia to get his Matters back."

"What if he turns on us after that?" Kirby entered our group, followed by Bun and Ribbon. Well, that technically means we were all talking but you get the point.

"Yeah," Bun agreed, "He could take over Drawcia's role as the destroyer!"

Marx smirked. "Heh, like you can catch me off guard. Of course Zero will turn against us! Duh! But this time I think we should talk it out with him. Y'know, make him know we care and that he can be loved. That takes care of things, right?"

"And if that doesn't work?" Fumu asked, angry for some reason.

"Well," He looked at Kirby, "You're an old hand at killing Zero, right? That's what we'll resort to if it's necessary."

"I can get the power crystal then!" Ribbon smiled, "I mean, if I need to."

"Yay Ribbon!" Kirby hugged Ribbon, "Okay, on three we all fist pump! One…two…three…"

We all did fist pumps with the exception of Marx who just kind of jumped up in the air. Even Meta Knight did it. After this we scattered to our rooms. I shared mine with Marx (as Kirby did with Ribbon and as Nikki wanted to with Meta Knight), so I didn't have to be without his presence.

"Okay, it's time to sleep!" I announced while getting the bed ready. I fluffed the pillow which was awkward seeing how it was gigantic.

"I'm sorry," Marx apologised for no apparent reason. I threw the pillow down and ran over to him.

"What for?" I took his face in my paws. I hoped desperately that he wouldn't cry.

He looked down, all gloomy. "For making fun of Nikki. I'm so sorry, because you're mad, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm—"

"Yes, I get it! You're sorry!" I laughed as I let him go, "I wasn't mad at you though. Aggravated, sure, but not mad. It's amazing that someone with such a big brain needs constant attention and affection! You're like a little kid!" I tapped his head while I said this, making him giggle, "What? That isn't a good thing you know!"

"I know. I just…love you." He collapsed into my arms and began to snore loudly. I groaned. Obviously thinking tired him out.

"Marx?" I whispered, nudging him, "Marx?" He didn't stir so I lifted him onto the bed. After shoving him over slightly I decided to climb in too. It probably wouldn't hurt. I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep shortly after I covered up myself.

**Author's note: So short but also necessary. I had fun writing it anyway^^! Yay, two chapters in one day!**

**Okay, I would just like to say that Marx is a total pushover when he's with Dee. Seriously! Hmm, I'm happy to end another chapter with fluff though. Go fluff! Being serious again, this story is almost over (cries). Please review before it ends! :( **


	12. If You're Lost

**Author's note: Hey, hey, hey! I have a song suggestion! Try Turquoise and Lavender by The Morning Of. Again, I named a chapter after a lyric XD! Okay, I don't have anything else to say^^! Er, Nikki is singing February Air by Lights if you need to know. R&R!**

11

If you're lost…

"Okay," Meta Knight started as we gathered in a circle the next day, "Marx has left. He says that he found Drawcia's guarida."

"What's that?" Nikki asked, "Who's guarida? Is that her boyfriend?"

I nudged her. "I think it means her lair or whatever." She made an 'O' with her mouth and then smiled.

"Okay, so what does that mean for us?" Ribbon was flying around nervously. I couldn't figure out how she managed to be scared. Marx seemed to have everything in control with his plans. There was no need to be afraid. Somehow though, I felt it too. The fear…

"Well, he told us to defeat some Dark Matter," Simirror replied to Ribbon, "But some of us should stay behind and look after the castle, right?"

"I will!" I volunteered. Everyone looked at me as if I was a monster of some kind.

Nikki smiled. "Oh, I will too then!" She hugged me, "'Cuz Dee's my new best friend!" She squeezed me so tight I thought I might suffocate. I think I understood how Marx felt whenever I bear hugged him.

"Anyone else?" No one answered Meta Knight so he continued, "Then let us leave. We shall return later on so please wait for us." He sort of bowed and left. The others followed him.

"So now what?" Nikki wondered, "Do you want to knit or something girly like that?"

"Girly?" I glared at her, "Things shouldn't be labelled like that. I can't even knit or sew or anything. Marx can sew but…he's Marx."

She snickered. "Your boyfriend can sew and you can't! That's so lame!"

"Never mind, let's just sit down and think." I went over to the throne and sat next to it, "Feel free to take that seat up there."

"Wait!" Nikki climbed under the throne and reappeared seconds later holding a small bag, "My knitting stuff!" She jumped on top of the throne this time, taking out her 'stuff.'

We sat there for a long time. The only sound heard was the constant _click, click _of Nikki's needles. After a while it started to annoy me. I couldn't even hear myself think. I looked up at Nikki but she didn't seem to notice. I turned my glance back to the floor until she started to hum happily. I groaned.

"Can you stop? It's kind of annoying,"

Nikki smiled at me. "_If you don't believe me, If you don't—_What was that Dee?" She sang.

"Nothing," I sighed, "It was nothing."

"Okay!" Another long time passed before either of us said anything. Nikki then spoke, "You're lucky."

"What for? I'm not lucky!"

She continued knitting as she talked which must've taken some talent. "Your boyfriend. He's nice, cute, smart and all those good things! I envy you. All I have is Meta Knight and he doesn't even like me really."

"Wait, you're jealous of me because I have Marx?" I laughed, "He isn't that good! He can be frustrating sometimes."

Nikki shook her head. "But you respect each other and that's all that matters. I don't think Meta respects me. I don't really respect him either. Maybe that's what happens when you give someone one-sided love. Liking them for what they look like…I must be a terrible person."

"No you aren't!" I stood up and yelled, "My love for Marx started one-sided! Now look! I promise it'll change!"

"Okay. Marx wasn't cold though!" She put down her knitting, "I made a mistake! A big mistake! Now I have no friends and no one likes me!"

I hugged her. "That isn't true. I'm you're friend, remember?"

Nikki laughed while hugging me back. "Alright, you're such a nice girl Dee! I still envy you, you know."

"Don't," I pulled away, "I have nothing to envy. Anyway, I wouldn't exactly call Marx warm."

"Whaddaya mean?" Nikki asked with friendly concern in her voice, "Is something going wrong with your relationship?"

I waved her away. "No, I'm just saying you shouldn't make speculations when you don't know anything."

"Yep, you're having problems!" She snickered and picked up her knitting needles again. I scowled at her.

"Okay, maybe a bit but doesn't every couple?"

Nikki smiled. "I was only teasing you. I can see that you guys fight a lot. It's probably because you're complete opposites…hmm." She seemed deep in thought. I couldn't help but saying in my head, _she thinks? _

"I guess." That was the last thing said for some more time. After a while of complete silence I got up and started pacing. Nikki stared at me but didn't say anything. My body got tired after about an hour and I sat down once more. Again, Nikki was speechless.

"Is something wrong?" She asked finally, "Are you worrying?"

I nodded. "I was just thinking that I spend most of my time comforting others yet no one ever comforts me. It isn't fair."

"Aw, poor Dee," She shook her head, "Stop whining! Everyone has a job in this community and you… you have to make other people feel secure! Even if you have to put your own feelings behind! 'Cuz that's who you are!"

I stared at her with sparkly eyes. "Nikki…thank you so much…." I wrapped my arms around her, "You can make a person realize how pathetic they're being! I won't feel bad for myself EVER again!"

"Um, when I think about it, maybe that isn't healthy," She muttered under her breath.

We both heard the sound of people coming through the doors. I let go of Nikki and waved at everyone as they entered the room. They looked tired and worn out, obviously from battling all day. I noticed that Ribbon's right wing was torn so I ran over and loaned my shoulder to her.

"Oh, thanks Dee," She fainted before she could say anything else. I caught her.

Kirby came running over. "Ribbon! Is she okay? Dee, Dee?"

"She's fine!" I laughed, "You should worry about yourself! You look all tired, go get some sleep while I take care of her."

"Can't I help?" He asked with his eyes watering. This made me feel sad too.

I shook my head. "Just go to bed, I'll bring Ribbon up to your room when she wakes up, alright?"

Kirby heaved a sigh and left. I peeked over my shoulder just in time to see Nikki holding Meta Knight in her arms. She looked up at me and winked. I shook my head and placed Ribbon on the floor temporarily. I ran quickly up to my room and grabbed a pillow. When I returned I laid her on it.

As I'm sure you can guess, the rest of the day was spent helping everyone get better. Nikki didn't aid me much as she was too busy fussing over Meta Knight. He seemed not to mind which made me happy for some strange reason. Of course Kirby came down from his room and helped as much as possible. It didn't matter how many times I told him to rest, he insisted. After a while I decided to just not bother anymore.

That night when everything was finished I climbed in the bed but I still felt as if something was missing. It wasn't just that, though. There was something else. It was almost like my body and half of my soul was there but the other part was in a better place. Then I realized that for the first time ever I felt…lost.

**Author's note: There! That was short. I just felt like I should make Dee and Nikki friends. So that's that. Also, this was the first chapter without Marx actually **_**in**_** it! He was mentioned, of course. He's a big part of Dee's life. She didn't really notice until the end of the end of this chapter. How lame. I'm sure he feels lost without her too. 3**

**Okay, you must review or else Nikki will annoy you to death! **

**Nikki: -_-**

**Dokeshisan: Er, just review!^^**


	13. Here's My Heart

**Author's note: It's here…the next chapter! This is the second part of the lyric "If you're lost…" No one's sure if it's "in" or "here's", so I just put down what I heard! Please R&R!**

12

Here's my heart

It didn't take long for the Dark Matter to spread outside of Dreamland. People from other countries were fleeing here hoping to find safety but instead entered where the danger started. All we could do was hope and wait. We needed to put all our faith in Marx. There was no other choice.

"Do you think Kawasaki is alright?" I asked as we all sat down in the throne room for breakfast. It was only scraps that we found in Dedede's gigantic kitchen.

"I'm sure he's fine," Ribbon assured me, "and even if he isn't he'll just be possessed! That'll heal when we save the world, so there's nothing to worry about!"

I exhaled wearily. "What about Marx? He's been gone for days…"

"He should be okay. I'm sure he can fend for himself." Meta Knight responded. I noticed that he wasn't eating anything.

"Oh. You're not having breakfast. Aren't you hungry?" I wasn't really sure why I was worried. Maybe I was doing it for Nikki who didn't see what was wrong.

"Omigod! You aren't Meta!" She screamed loudly as she realized, "You need to eat! EAT!" Nikki picked up some bread and waved it in his face.

"No." Meta Knight sighed, pushing it away, "It has mould anyway." Nikki examined the bread and sniffed it a few times.

She threw it across the room. "That's just yucky."

Kirby got up and ran over to the bread. He studied it for a few seconds, then stuffed it in his mouth. "Oh, it isn't that bad!" This statement earned him an 'EWWW!' from the whole room.

"Hey, you stepped on my foot you midget!"

"I didn't! You should be grateful I had the heart to save you."

"Heart? Since when do you have one of—hey! Stop stepping on my feet!"

"Maybe if _you _stop dropping the plans that _I _made!"

"Meh…"

We all turned to the direction of the voices. The front door to the throne room opened and a giant penguin-like person wearing a robe entered holding a bunch of papers. It was King Dedede. A worn out Marx followed him.

"Marx!" I dropped my plate of food and ran over to him. After being locked in an embrace for a minute I finally let go, "I was so worried about you! Oh, you look tired. You should take a—"

"No!" Marx snapped, "I'm fine! Just get away from me! No, wait, get me some coffee!" he brushed past me to face everyone else, "Dedede, drop the plans and leave, NOW!"

Dedede placed the papers down on the floor then glared at Marx. "Why am I doing what you say? I'm the king here and you need to address me as one too!"

"Just do it! You know I'm stronger than you! You couldn't _ever _make me do anything! EVER!" he turned to the rest of the room, "Drawcia's plans are photocopied here. Study them, come up with a counterattack and WHERE THE HELL IS MY COFFEE?"

I poured the mug of hot coffee over Marx's head. "I don't know who you are and what you've done with my boyfriend, but can he please come back?"

He sighed. "Okay. Marx is here. And he is PISSED!"

"Well that's just too bad isn't it?" I tossed the mug over my shoulder which caused it to smash on the floor.

"Um um!" Nikki raised her arm as if she was a student, "This isn't really a good time to fight, is it?"

"SHUT UP AND WORK!" Marx screeched, still soaking wet with coffee, "I have to go clean myself. _King _Dedede will explain everything." He stormed out with me following closely behind him.

When I caught up I grabbed the ends of his hat and dragged him back to face me. "Please slow down. I want you to know that I love you."

"I know. You don't have to tell me constantly like some IDIOT!" He spun around and began to walk away again, "I don't want you to love me."

I tried to walk as fast as he was. "What? Why not?"

Marx stopped, muttered something under his breath and turned to me. "Do you see me as a weak person?"

"Huh? Why does that matter?"

"It doesn't." He continued walking until we both reached the bathroom, "I would appreciate it if you left now."

I shook my head. "No. I want to help get that coffee off. I was the one who poured it all over you, anyway."

"One, you can't end a sentence with 'off', and two, no way." He entered the room and slammed the door, locking it. I hit it once for no reason and let out a sigh.

"You're an idiot!" I yelled loud enough for Marx to hear, "and maybe I don't love you." I ran away from the door before he could open it and scream at me.

I returned to the throne room with everyone's eyes watching. It was incredibly creepy. I walked over to where Nikki was and sat next to her. They still kept staring.

"Konichiwa Dee," she whispered, "Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did you hurt him? Did you hurt each other? Did you both hurt someone else?"

"No." I answered noisily for all to hear, "No one was hurt. What counterattack plans did you come up with?"

She smiled. "I don't understand anything Dedede said. Meta Knight called me dumb."

Meta Knight turned to us. "I didn't call you _dumb_, I said that your brain fails to comprehend simplistic information such as that our king is speaking. It seems you cannot help it either."

Nikki paused as she processed this. "That means I'm dumb!"

"Okay, so what are we doing?" I asked anyone and everyone, "Can I please get an answer?"

"Apparently Drawcia is going to make the Dark Matter possess Meta and Fumu. They're the 'brains' apparently." Ribbon answered me, "Then she'll attack us when we least expect it!"

I felt a wave of depression wash over me. "Oh Nova, that sucks."

"'Oh Nova?'" Kirby asked. He peered at me from his place next to Ribbon.

"Yeah, that's just something Marx says sometimes," I stopped talking as another wave of depression hit me even harder than before, "I hope I get to hear him say it again…if he ever stops…being…MAD!" I fell into Nikki while sobbing.

"Aw Deeeeeeee," She took me in an embrace, "Sissy Nikki says it'll get better 'cuz silly Marxy doesn't have no reason to be mad at Deeeeee!"

"What? That made no sense!" I sniffled, "I don't think he'd want you to call him Marxy either!"

"Um, no offence or anything," Fumu started, "but your problems don't really matter now. It's kind of the end of the world."

"Eh? Oh, hey! Deeeee!" Nikki kept talking anyway, "Tell you what, you go find Marxy and we'll keep going, 'kay! Oh, and tell him he's kawai ko butta!" She dragged me into the hall and left. I didn't even have a chance to ask what the hell that meant.

I sighed and began to search the castle. Marx couldn't be found anywhere at first, but the castle was big and he was, if you think about it, tiny. So was I since we were about the same size. Anyway, getting back to what I was saying, I looked everywhere and probably visited some places twice.

"My bedroom!" I blurted out in the empty hall. My voice echoed back to me as I ran up to the next floor. It must've been dangerous being alone in this place. I didn't notice at the time.

I threw open the door and gazed down at the snoring lump on the bed. I made my way over and examined Marx carefully. He was fast asleep (okay, that much was obvious) and most likely having sweet dreams. I nudged his side which just caused him to make a low grunting sound. He still seemed to be sleeping.

"Marx," I nudged him once more, "Marx, I think you're…kawai ko butta."

He woke up and turned to me. "Uhnnn, wha? What did ya say?" his eyes glistened in the faint light coming off a nearby lamp (it should've been bright outside, but the void was really dark).

"Oh, do you know what that means? I hope it isn't a bad word!" I waved my arms in the air with panic.

Marx smiled. "Don' get all flustered. I do know what it…" his sentence was interrupted by another yawn, "I'm tired."

I sighed. "I figured that out by now with the slurred words and all…please tell me what it means!"

"Mm, the pillow's soft…oh! Right!" He cleared his throat, "Kawai means 'cute.'"

"And the rest is..?"

Marx frowned. "Ah well, ya called me…" he started to giggle. That turned into a chuckle which eventually became a cackle, "Sorry, it means 'cutesy.' Cutesy! You called me CUTESY!" he broke into an unstoppable laughter.

"Uh, is it really that funny?" I asked. I was actually relieved it wasn't a bad word or whatever, now I was more concerned for Marx's mental health.

He stopped. "You don't find it hilarious? No? Okay. I'll be serious too!" he sat up and gave me a 'serious' expression. In other words, his eyes widened until they took up most of his face and his small mouth was twisted into something resembling a pout.

"Okay, that's just creepy. Stop. STOP!"

"Owoo! Alright." Marx leaned over and kissed me gently on the lips, "I'm sorry for getting angry earlier. Does Dee forgive Marx?"

I laughed, realizing that was his goal. "Yes, Dee forgives Marx because she thinks he's cutesy!"

"That makes Marx very happy. Now Marx wants to get up after his power nap and tell everyone his counter plan. Does Dee think Marx is smart? Marx thinks he is smart." he tilted his head sideways and gave me an irresistible look.

"Okay, okay! Let's stop talking in the third person. It's cute but, y'know." I couldn't stop laughing, "Are you mad at me, or were you at all?"

"No, Marx isn't mad at Dee—I mean, no, of course not!" He got out of the bed and walked out of the room, waiting for me to follow him, which I did, "Why would you think that? I didn't sleep for three days before just then, okay. So it wasn't you! Never!"

I sighed in relief. "I'm glad. Hey, did you know that Nikki calls you Marxy? Does that mean anything?"

"Ergh…my greatest enemy's given me a pet name!" He snickered and gave me a peck on the cheek, "I don't think we kiss enough, do you?"

My cheeks turned a bright red. "What? Oh no! I've been avoiding it because of you!" I paused, "No wait! That came out wrong! It's just…what you said…you don't like physical contact, do you?"

"Oh look, you're blushing," Marx purred as he moved closer, "do I make you nervous?"

I started to wave my arms in the air again but I accidentally hit him in the face. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry! Did I hurt you?"

"Owwwwiee! But no, I'm fine," He giggled and leaned on my side as we continued walking, "If you don't want me to kiss you just tell me! I'd rather that than have a black eye!"

"No way! Don't get the wrong idea!" I gasped, "I love you! Actually, I _adore _you! How do I prove it?"

Marx stepped away and looked down at his feet. "Do you think that, maybe, you could hug me really close and say that again?" He whispered.

"Okay!" I wrapped him in my arms and squeezed his body so tight I thought he might pop, "I love you more than anyone else in the whole wide universe! So look, here's my heart for you…"

"Hey!"

I let go of Marx so we could both turn to Simirror who was running toward us. She stopped mid way and placed her hands on her hips.

"We're coming!" I yelled to her. I placed my paw on Marx's back so he was forced to come too.

We entered the throne room _again._ Simirror ran off as soon as we arrived and sat next to Nikki and Meta Knight. Marx followed her and stood in front of everyone. I moved close to him and faced the crowd as well.

"Soooo, any plans yet?" That was his lame opening line. They all glared at him.

"NO!"

Marx stuck his tongue out and frowned. "Don't yell! God! I came up with a counterattack while laying there in bed, staring at the ceiling. Okay, Ribbon, you're going to go and get the power crystal. When Meta and Fumu get possessed we'll, like, un-possess them!"

"Yes sir," she bowed while still floating in the air.

"Sir…I like that…doesn't fit me though," he sighed, "when Ribbon returns we'll use the crystal and blah, blah, blah. Then we run to Drawcia's place and take her out of the picture. See, she'll be the only one in that place!"

"After that we just kill off the remaining Dark Matter, right?"

Marx grinned at me. "Yes, we can't all go though. Nikki and Bun will stay here at the castle, Simirror and Fumu will guard a…special place in the forest and Kirby, Ribbon, Meta Knight, Dee and I will defeat Drawcia. Understood?"

"Hey!" Dedede yelled, "What about me, midget? Are you going to leave me to die or something?"

"Hm, tempting but no," Marx stared intently at the king, "I guess you could stay here in the castle as long as Nikki and Bun take care of you. After all, you're prone to getting possessed, no?"

"Alright!" I clapped my paws, "Let's get some sleep people! We'll meet here tomorrow, possessed or not!"

We all cheered and said our goodbyes to Ribbon who was off to get the power crystal.

**Author's note: Wow, long chapter O_o ! The last few chapters will have more action and less fluff XD! Okay, Dokeshisan has been thinking of changing the genre, then they were like 'meh.' So, that's where it stands. Dokeshisan would also like to say they like writing and talking in third person which is why it is in this chapter. That is all your beloved author will say for now!^^ Please, please, please REVIEW!**

_**Celebrate talk in the third person day on March third! 3**_


	14. The Underground Temple

**Author's note: Hiya! How is u gys doinn (I spelled that wrong on purpose 3)?**

**Okay, chapter 13 is here. I feel sudden hatred for this story. Maybe because it's going on too long…I want it to end already! Still, we have about four or five more chapters to go. I hope you aren't tired of it. That would just make my job harder _ !**

**Anyway, I want to thank all you reviewers that have ever reviewed! Thanks! So, please R&R!^^**

13

The Underground Temple

We sat in a circle in the throne room _again _to eat breakfast. It was incredibly silent since there wasn't really anything to say. It wasn't because we were nervous or anything, it was more like anything important was talked about too much already. I wanted to break the silence somehow but I just couldn't find a way.

"So, what exactly are we eating anyhow?"

Everyone glared at Marx for even making a sound. I was probably the only one not glaring; I was simply looking at him to be polite. I thought about what he said and studied the plate in front of me. It looked like a brown rock covered with moss and some weird blue goop.

"Ribbon made it, so it must be good!" Kirby took a bite and smiled, "See, it's good! Yum!"

Marx gave him a blank stare. "Okay. One, you can eat anything you idiot and two, that didn't answer my question."

"Um, um! It's bread with icing on it!" Ribbon giggled as Marx's mouth just about dropped to the floor.

"What kind of messed up combination is that? And for the bread, it's GREY!" He stuck out his tongue and shoved the plate toward Kirby.

I examined mine. "What's this fuzzy green stuff, then?"

Ribbon placed a finger on her chin. "That…that was on there when I opened the bread bag!" there was a loud _sshft_ sound as slid all of our plates slid at Kirby.

"Hey!" he yelled, "I'm not a living dumpster! Why can't you throw it out if you don't like it?"

"Aw, Kirby," Marx whined, "C'mon, eat Ribbon's mouldy bread or else you might hurt her feelings, right Ribbon?"

She blushed. "I don't want Kirby to be hurt! Why am I blushing?"

"Our author is making you do it…" Bun said suddenly, "Hey, have you seen Fumu?"

"What author? That was crazy! Like him!" Nikki pointed at Marx as she yelled this to the whole room.

He cackled and turned to Bun. "I'm sure she disappeared and now she'll never bother you again…EVER!" I swear that after he spoke the word 'EVER' I could here evil music and thunder in the background.

"Yeah! No more nagging!" Bun did a fist pump then stopped, "Wait, that isn't good."

"Speaking of which, Meta Knight isn't here either…" I thought out loud.

"Hm, good observations Dee!" Marx grinned at me lovingly, "I'm sure they've been possessed and are wondering around looking for people to torture and kill."

Simirror gave him a fierce look. "How can you say it so calmly, you sadistic clown!"

"Oh noooo! MY POOR METY!" I'm sure you can guess that was Nikki, "I must…save him!" She struck a dramatic pose with fake tears in her eyes.

Everyone began to rush around in a panic. Marx sat down, placidly sipping his coffee. "Now, now people. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. You have the power crystal, right Ribbon?"

Ribbon looked at him, eyes as big as saucers. "Ah, yes! Certainly, behind the throne! Let me get it!" she flitted to the throne and pulled out a bag. She opened it to reveal a small crystal. She muttered something under her breath and let go of the crystal. As it hit the floor it grew to its maximum size.

"Oh, gimme!" Nikki grabbed the giant item and gasped, "It's heavy but…I must save Meta Knight with it! I must!" She dragged it away with her to the hallway, "META KN—"

"ARE YOU INSANE?" Marx flew out of seemingly nowhere and knocked Nikki onto the floor. I hadn't noticed his transformation. It surprised me.

The crystal bounced on the ground a few times before rolling over to Ribbon's feet. She smiled. "Oh good! It didn't break!"

I turned my attention to Marx, who was collapsed on top of Nikki. She tried to shove him off herself. "Ew, you're all ugly! Get off and—what happened to your hat? Are you really Marx? Or are you an impostor? You're in another form, aren't you?"

Marx looked up at her. "Um, what the hell, yes, no, and yes." He fell down again and closed his eyes, "Ooh, I don't feel good."

"What? Are you alright?" I dashed over to Marx and fell at his side. I shook him a few times, "Hey, wake up…"

"His hat's messed up," Nikki kept pointing at Marx's hat, "see, the colours are lighter and the sides are reversed!"

Sure enough, after staring intently at his jester hat, I noticed that the colours were indeed lighter and reversed. "Fuchsia and baby blue but only in his soul form…wow, you actually saw that! You're amazing Nikki! So smart even though you aren't! Oh, I think that almost rhymed!"

"HEY! Why the hell is my hat the topic of a conversation and what did that even mean? How can you be dumb and smart at the same time?" Marx glared at the two of us while starting to float in the air.

"They can be if…they're dart!" Nikki laughed maliciously. She seemed to have fun teasing him.

"Dart is already a word," I pointed out, "How about smumb?"

"Actually, if you wanted, a word can have two or more meanings. Such as May and may. Or too, to and two." Marx blurted out for no apparent reason, suddenly not angry, "Sometimes the words can be completely different types like, what you were saying, dart is a noun. If you were creating another meaning for it then, in your case, it could be an adjective."

Nikki glared at him. "You aren't supposed to be taking part in this conversation! You're supposed to be annoyed!"

"Well that's just too bad isn't it?" he transformed back and shook his head, "Ow, I have a headache…"

"Maybe you're getting a cold. NO! A cold!" I ran over to him and gave him a gigantic bear hug.

"Sorry to interrupt and all, but we should be more focused on finding Meta and Fumu and freeing them!" Simirror yelled from across the room.

As if in response to her, Meta Knight jumped down from somewhere and smacked Simirror out of the way with his sword. That is, he only resembled his former self. His cape and body was grey when it should've been navy blue and his eyes were a blood red colour.

"Hey, he looks kinda like Dark Meta Knight!" Kirby pointed out loudly, "minus the red eyes."

There was a long silence. Then everyone started to panic again. Everyone except Marx and Ribbon (and me too, I guess). He looked at the crystal and then looked at Ribbon. She nodded and took it over to Meta Knight. "Okay, stand still Meta. I'm just going to—" a light suddenly flashed and a dark cloud hovered over Meta Knight's body.

"Okay, now what?" I asked. The Dark Matter just kept floating there, not doing anything. No one else did anything either, "Aren't we going to fight it?"

"No, we're going to sit here and stare it to death," Marx replied in a sarcastic voice, "Of course we'll fight it!"

"Hey, no need to be angry…" I looked at the creature again, "It isn't moving, so shouldn't we just kill it now?"

There was no answer from anyone after I said this. That was when I remembered something someone told me a long time ago. Dark Matter could read minds. If this was right, then everyone was trying hard not to think. I struggled to do the same until Nikki broke the awkward silence.

"NO! Gimme my Meta!" She grabbed a small brown thing tucked into her collar. It grew somewhat and became a sword. She slashed the Dark Matter straight through the middle. It made that disgusting gurgling sound as it disappeared.

I ran over to her side. "Nikki! Are you okay?" She looked at me and smiled while waving the sword in front of my face.

"Oh yeah! Sissy Nikki is always okay!" She pointed her sword at Meta Knight now, "I saved you, so you owe me!"

He got up and wrapped his cape (now navy blue as it used to be) around himself. "We need to find Fumu. I believe that she has escaped the Dark Matter that was after her." He walked past Nikki, totally ignoring her.

Her mouth moved up and down a few times but nothing came out. "H-he ignored me! He hates me!" She began to cry so I gave her a hug.

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you." I tried to comfort her. I felt something bite my arm. It was Marx's teeth piercing into my skin, "Hey, let go. That hurts!"

"Does it?" He let go and spit on the ground, "Good, we have _more important things _to do besides talking to _that_!"

Nikki scowled at him. "You're a meanie. You shouldn't spit inside either!"

"Meanie. Is that it?" He sighed, "We need to look for Fumu, like Meta Knight said."

I nodded. "I somehow feel that she'll come running in screaming her head off, though."

Of course at that moment Fumu stumbled in, shrieking. It seemed that she wasn't possessed. She tackled her brother and they both fell to the floor.

"It almost got me, but I was lucky enough to escape and kill it!" Fumu got off of Bun and took a deep breath, "We need to get out of her soon, before another person is attacked!"

"Um, no. Nikki, Bun and Dedede are staying here, remember?" Marx stated this gently. He was exposing himself, which wasn't a good thing.

"I don't care! We need to evacuate the castle! No one will care about your stupid plan if one of the people here dies!" She yelled in sudden anger. Marx looked ready to faint, which I couldn't understand.

"Th-then you don't," he began to choke, then an evil look flickered in his eyes, "I really hate you. It doesn't matter what _you _think because _you _are nobody and _you _could never come up with a plan anyway! Well, can you? CAN YOU? Tell me if you have because I'm sure you're friends would love to have your plan and not mine."

I walked over and wrapped my arms around Marx just in case he attempted violence. "You should calm down now. She didn't mean to hurt you. She was just scared like everyone else."

He glanced up at her. "Is that true?"

"Um, yes." I think Fumu understood the situation. This really wasn't the time to pick a fight with Marx. Well, no time was _good_, but especially not now. It would never end.

"Oh, I understand!" He smiled sweetly as he turned to everyone else, "Okay. I guess we should get going. Onward to Drawcia's lair! Wooh!" No one cheered, so he went on, "Let's just go."

So we left the castle, Nikki, Bun and Dedede behind us. Apparently Dedede was in the bathroom throughout our important discussion, which was just plain annoying. He came out before we left not knowing anything. Yet, he still waved. It was a kind gesture that made me feel warm and fuzzy.

Okay, never mind that. The journey was long and hard, taking its toll on us. We walked for what seemed like days without a break. Well, it was only about an hour but what would a story be without hyperbole? So we finally reached our destination. Along the way Marx made us stop at some place in the forest and drop off Fumu and Simirror. He said that it was a special place which needed guarding. I wasn't so sure about that.

"Okay, we're here," Marx murmured in front of a giant fissure. It looked black and never ending.

"Where? Does Drawcia live in a hole in the ground?" Ribbon asked, gripping the miniature version of the power crystal to her chest.

He grinned. "Hell yeah! Isn't it cool? I wish I could live underground, never having to face the world again…okay, let's go!"

"Um, that was a weird thing to—oh! A starfish!" Kirby ran over to the little sea creature and picked it up, "It's dead. Hey look! A slot in a rock shaped like this starfish!"

"What are you standing there for? Put it in!" Marx was shaking with excitement. I'd never seen him so happy. It made me feel good too.

Kirby nodded and inserted the starfish. Nothing happened for a while then the ground began to shake. The fissure widened and a structure grew from it. As soon as the dust cleared I studied the building. It was grey with paint running out of some of the sides. For some reason this paint didn't seem to affect the building's colour. The size of it was…plain gigantic. It must've been at least two thousand feet tall.

"There, now we just have to reach the top!" Marx giggled, "C'mon people!"

We all groaned and started our long climb. I could already feel the pain in my body.

**Author's note: The starfish is…kind of random. Think of it as a tribute to Fuko Ibuki of Clannad. I've been watching it a lot lately so it got stuck in my head.**

**Hm, nothing really went Marx's way this chapter. Yet he still remained happy. That's so cute XD!**

**I would also like to say that I'm sorry my updating is getting slow. I'm sorry :S**

**Now please review! Nova is begging you! (83)-O **


	15. The Sacrifice

**Author's note: Hey, hey, hey! The song I refer to you now is Alice Human Sacrifice. It's a Japanese song based on Alice in Wonderland. I like the tune and the story is creepy (read English lyrics) **

**Okay, the spell Marx uses is just normal words scrambled. Then I added 'desu' for no reason. I'm not sure what else to say… **

**Okay, please R&R! (I learned how to make the line thingies! Yay!)**

* * *

14

The Sacrifice

"Just…a few more steps…" Marx grumbled. We walked those steps and reached just another set of stairs. He made a sound that was a mix between a scream and growl.

I laughed. "It's okay, this'll only take a bit more effort and before you—"

"Screw you!" he shouted, "um, unless you're going to carry the rest of the way. Then you're alright!"

"Weren't you excited about this?" Kirby asked with a hint of teasing in his voice. Marx stuck his tongue out at him.

"Maybe, but I changed my mind!" he growled, "I guess I'm not allowed to do that now, huh?"

Kirby frowned. "I didn't say that. You get mad real easy, don't you?"

"No! And that would be called a _bad temper_, check your grammar asshole!" Marx stopped walking altogether and took time to glare at each one of us. It was unnerving.

"What?" I asked, "Is something wrong?" he looked down and I followed his gaze. We were so high above the ground that I couldn't even see past the thick mist surrounding the tower. The only thing I actually could see was electricity sparking through the clouds. Marx looked terrified before fainting.

"Oh, what happened?" Ribbon looked worried as she flew next to me.

I laughed nervously. "Oh, he's just scared of heights. Nothing major."

A long, awkward silence followed my statement. The only sound was the crackling thunder and Marx mumbling while he was unconscious. I nudged him a few times before he woke.

"What?" he grumbled, "What happened? Did I miss something?"

"No, yes, maybe..?" I shook my head and placed him on the step above me, "Just don't look down, alright?"

Marx looked down, of course. "Oh my God that I don't believe in!" he was about to faint again when I slapped him across the face.

"I told you not to look down! Are you slow or something?"

"Hm," he seemed deep in thought for a minute, "let me get back to you on that later, 'kay?" he giggled and I groaned.

"It's hard to imagine you two are actually friends, seeing you fight so much," Ribbon smiled, still following closely behind us, "Hey, why aren't you saying much, Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight was silently walking alongside us. He was just minding his own business, probably deep in thought. Marx studied the knight and said, "So why're you bothering him? Obviously he's not talking because he doesn't _want to_! Duh."

"Unfortunately, I must agree with him. I do not wish to speak." Meta Knight spoke so softly that we all became quiet just to listen.

"Exactly! We should all be like him. So, shut up!" Marx snapped suddenly. We stopped talking after that for some reason. It wasn't because we were doing what he said (technically we were, but still), we just didn't feel like it.

We finally reached the top. At first I didn't think anything was there until I saw a square in the middle. It had strange, warped colours rippling inside of it like some weird kind of water. I ran over ran over and dipped my paw in it. It seemed to disappear, so I pulled it back to me.

"Dee, what're you doing?" I felt Marx's presence next to me. I glanced up at him. His expression was worried for some reason.

"It's a warp hole," I replied. He opened his mouth to talk when Kirby interrupted him.

"Yay! Let's jump into it and see what happens!"

Marx gave him a blank stare. "No. That's just crazy! We need to be careful and think things out. Did I just say that?"

"Yeah, that didn't sound right coming from you," I laughed, unsure whether that was an okay thing to say. I didn't want to offend him.

He examined the hole closely before grinning. "Okay, here goes nothing then! Where does that saying come from anyway? Screw it!" with that he dove in, cackling maniacally.

We waited for a minute. That minute then became five or six. "Do you think he died?" Ribbon decided to say finally.

"I'm sure he is fine," Meta Knight's voice had absolutely no emotion in it at all.

"I hope you're right," I dipped my paw in the warp hole again only to be surprised by Marx's head popping out at us.

"Hey, hey, hey! It's all safe down here. It's just, like, a giant hall with paintings and stuff. No sign of Drawcia, though," he hopped back down and I shrugged, following him.

I pretty much did a face plant upon entering. Once I recovered, I lifted my head and studied the surroundings. I was in a dark hallway that looked as if it was built many years ago. The only lighting was the torches on the wall which made it hard to see. I squinted and saw that, next to the torches, there were simple paintings of faces. They seemed to be watching my every move, spying on me…

"Dee, please get up," Marx interrupted my thoughts by nudging my side. I turned to him. His eyes were practically glowing.

"Your eyes!" I wanted to point at them, but ended up poking him. He reeled away in pain.

"OW! Jeez Dee! Why do you always hurt me?" he began to cry so I gave him a comforting hug.

"I'm sorry, let's just keep go—" this time I was in interrupted by Kirby and Ribbon falling through the hole. They looked up at us and smiled.

"Sorry for taking so long! Kirby made us wait," Ribbon giggled, "he said that he was actually scared of going in!"

Kirby pouted. "Was not! I was totally confident! Right Meta Knight?"

Meta Knight walked out of the shadows. How he got there, I couldn't explain. "Let us leave and not dwell on this. Come."

"That warp hole was kind of confusing," Marx thought out loud as we continued walking, "I mean, they're supposed to _warp _you, but this one was more like a door."

"Why does this matter?" I asked, exasperated, "Um, shouldn't you transform now or something? Just in case Drawcia appears or—"

"Right!" his body, after being shrouded in darkness, mutated into his soul. Over the past month, I actually became fond of this form. Despite my first reaction, I found it almost cute.

There was yet another silence until we reached a gigantic room. It was much the same as the hallway with the paintings and torches, but it had more decorations. I turned my attention to the middle of the room where a stone wall stood alone, not connected to any other walls. It had two giant torches at its sides and a red carpet wrapped around it. I spied something painted on the wall, so I ran over to examine it.

"What's this?" I whispered to myself. It was some strange, unreadable writing scratched into the stone and painted over violet. I felt confused before taking a step backwards and almost tripping. The paint blob was the shape of none other than—Drawcia.

"Is something wrong Dee?" Marx asked, at my side as usual, he squinted at the wall and laughed. It was a strange, warped sound that sent shivers up my spine.

"Why are you laughing?" I asked, not really wanting an answer.

"This is Drawcia."

"What?"

A twisted smile spread across his face. I noticed that some of his teeth were crooked. "She trapped herself in this wall with a spell. She can escape any time she wants and surprise us. Very smart."

"What's the spell?" Kirby arrived bearing this impossible question.

"Well _obviously _I don't know, or else I'd be getting her out here to fight!" Marx snapped. He turned angrily back to the wall and studied it with intent.

Meta Knight touched the wall with his gloved hand. "We shall wait for her to show herself instead of wasting time. That would only amuse her."

"No!" it seemed like Marx was on an angry rampage, "I have it! _Raelsae Wtcih innn hre ture frome desu_!"

The wall started to crumble right before our eyes. A blob of ectoplasm floated up from it and took form as Drawcia. She seemed shocked. "You broke the seal!"

"Is it really that much of a surprise? You taught me that spell, after all," another warped cackle escaped his throat, making me twitch.

"You remembered, how convenient for you," her single eye narrowed at Marx, "I thought you said you wouldn't rejoin them, yet here you are on their side! You lied to me!"

He smirked. "I was never on _your _side in the first place. I just made the plans so we could counter them. So, now it's five people on one, get the logic?"

"My sweetie, I can't believe that you thought I would stay here alone," Drawcia let out her own creepy cackle before continuing, "Oh no, I'm far from alone."

The paintings around us gave out a strange glow and dark clouds formed in front of them. They took the shapes of dark matter, of course and Drawcia laughed again.

"Um," Kirby tried to say something but nothing else came out of his mouth. I felt exactly the same.

"Not so cocky now, are we?" Drawcia twirled around in the air, "I think it's safe to say you're outnumbered and have no chance of winning, so I'm possessing you and keeping you as my pets!"

The Dark Matter started to close in on us and we tried to fight back. There just weren't enough of us; even if we were stronger it would be too much. We must've killed at least six before being completely tired. Fighting one Dark Matter was hard but fighting this many, which was at least thirty, would be impossible.

"This could be the end," Meta Knight said under his breath to Kirby and I, since we were next to him at this time, "Even if we defeat all of these, Drawcia is still left."

"No! We can do this!" I ran away and whacked a Matter with my parasol. It split down the middle and gurgled. I stepped away, surprised that it died that quickly.

A sudden force shoved me out of the way. I opened my eyes and saw Marx, who was clinging on to me with his wings. He let go and hovered over me, smiling. "A Dark Matter almost hit you. You need to look where you're going." I looked over his shoulder, if you want to call it that. A Dark Matter Knight was lying on the ground, dazed.

"What'd you do to him?" I sounded surprised though I didn't try to be.

"I have to go and kill it now. Keep going." He flew over to the Knight and flung a boomerang at it (which seemed to come from nowhere). It did the death gurgle thing, of course.

"Oh!" an idea popped into my head, "Ribbon! The power crystal! Can it attack?"

Ribbon fluttered over to me. "What? The power crys-oh right!" she pulled it out of her hammer space held it up like a trophy.

"Kirby said it can turn into the shard gun. Can you make it do that?"

She frowned and shook her head sadly. "I can't remember how. I know what you're saying, but no. I'm so sorry."

I scowled at nothing in particular. That was when I got it. "Hand it over! I know what to do!"

Ribbon reluctantly gave the crystal to me. I ran with it to the center of the room and pointed it at a Dark Matter.

"_What are you doing?_" it asked me in a wispy, distant voice. Its eye widened before it just kind of…dissolved.

I turned to the rest of the dark clouds. "Any of you want to end up like him?"

They looked at each other and there was almost a murmur of agreement before they flew at me and joined their dissolved friend. This led me to wonder if they meant to kill me or if they really wanted to die themselves. I decided the latter was true, since they couldn't feel any positive feelings. Their lives must've been horrible. Maybe they would get a second chance in the afterlife.

"Oh," Drawcia was still hovering above the crumbled wall. She floated in front of me, though still at a safe distance, "You're a smart one, aren't you? Almost as much as your little, deceiving clown friend over there." She sent a piercing stare at Marx, who was giving her a similar look.

"Now you really are outnumbered!" I screamed at her with the fiercest voice I could conjure. She laughed at me.

Marx flew in between us as if he was guarding me. "I won't let you hurt her!"

"Who said I would hurt her? You shouldn't care anyway," Drawcia floated a few paces backwards, "she doesn't love you, after all. She lies, but she doesn't love you for who you truly are."

"Hey! St—" Kirby tried to help us but was stopped by Meta Knight's sword.

"No, this is a battle they must fight on their own. When Drawcia attacks physically we may join, but not now."

Kirby grumbled a "Fine," and stepped away from the sword.

I turned my attention back to the staring contest between Drawcia and Marx. "Dee loves me more than you ever could," he growled finally. His voice was so full of hate it almost scared me.

"But does she understand you?" she peered down at me, "Do you completely understand him? Or is that too hard a task for you?"

"I don't think anyone can ever understand him fully, but I'm trying very hard! I'm sure I do better than anyone else!" I threw my arms into the air to elaborate. I think it just made me look stupid.

Drawcia seemed to be smiling. "Of course you wouldn't understand him. He's psychotic, as am I. Which is why you should join me Marx."

Marx glared at her. "If we're done talking about people as if they're not here, I'll consider having a civil conversation with you. I would never join you though, not in your dreams."

"Do you know why I'm here?" Drawcia pretty much blew him off, which was just plain rude, "Do either of you?" we both shook our heads so she went on, "When I died, Zero was kind enough to give me his chance to come back here. I felt guilty and decided to control his Dark Matter and such, but that isn't what I'm trying to say. Do you know why he let me go?"

"Can't you just get to the point?" Marx practically hissed.

She sighed. "Yes, I am here because of you. If it wasn't for you, Marx, Zero would've never sacrificed himself for me. He did the same for you, which gave him the idea for me. Get it?"

"Get what?"

"If it wasn't for you, I would still be dead. So everything that's happening now is pretty much _all your fault_. Now do you understand?" Drawcia tried to look as innocent as possible. I glared at her and turned to Marx, who I expected to be glowering at her as well. It surprised me when I saw that he wasn't. He instead looked heartbroken.

"My fault. This is…all my fault?" his eyes began to water and he fell to the ground. I took him in my arms and tried to pick him up again.

"It isn't your fault! It isn't!" I shook him hard but he wouldn't budge. Drawcia had just totally shattered his heart by saying that one little thing.

"See? Dee doesn't love or understand you or else she would share this feeling. She would see why you should join me. She would want the best for you."

I felt my own eyes well up with tears. "Why don't you just shut up? Can't you see I love him more than I do myself?"

"Prove it."

"What?" that was actually Kirby, Ribbon and me. I continued with, "How do I do that?"

"Would you die for him? That sounds simple, does it not?" She giggled and twirled around. I stood in front of Marx and threw my parasol as far as it could go.

"Okay," I gulped, "Kill me."

The laughing stopped and a Dark Matter Knight appeared next to Drawcia. "My goodness, are you really that serious about this?" this received a nod, "Okay then, perhaps I was wrong about you. Kill that girl."

I spun around and looked at Ribbon. "When I'm gone, can you take care of Marx for me? Just make sure he gets friends who love him like I do. Oh, and he only eats toast for breakfast. That's all."

She nodded and I turned back around to Drawcia. The witch looked almost sad as her Knight flew and slashed at me. I saw a flash of red and heard someone yell out in horror. A weight shoved me across the room before everything just stopped.

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**Author's note: The longest yet! Anyway, you only have to suffer through two more chapters and an epilogue now. Oh, please take the poll on my profile. There are two characters I'm definitely going to let die, but one is undecided. Please vote! And don't forget to review while you're at it!**


	16. Zerotsuu

**Author's note: Obviously, Dee didn't die. Any questions you have about that are answered here. This'll probably be the last time Marx breaks down and cries, too. He'll be a stronger character from now on. ^^**

**I found a video on Youtube. The link is on my profile (in the list). It's called Buri Hamachi! SO KAWAII!**

**Okay, please review! ^^**

15

Zerotsuu

I woke up with a sharp pain on my head. My vision was blurred and it took some time to adjust to the lighting. As soon as I did, I saw a bunch of colourful blurs surrounding me. I reached up and poked one in the face.

"Hey!" I realized the person I poked was Nikki. She rubbed her left eye and I laughed.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean to poke you!" I looked around at everyone above me. They were all girls.

Ribbon handed me a pill and a glass of water. "Here, for the pain." I reluctantly took the medicine and she smiled lovingly.

"So what happened? Is Marx alright?" I had many more questions, but these seemed to be the most important.

"Look next to you," Simirror gestured to my side. I glanced at Marx who was sleeping soundly next to me. He looked worse than I felt with the number of bruises and cuts that were all over his face. He was wearing a bandage on his head too, like me.

"After the Dark Matter attacked you he shoved you out of the way and took the rest of the attacks. So he got beaten up the most," Fumu was at my side so I turned to her, "He actually woke up yesterday and he's been slipping in and out of consciousness since then."

"He insisted on being here with you. Isn't that _adorable_? I'm so jealous!" Nikki giggled, "I wanna be you."

I looked back at Marx. "Do you think you could all leave? I want to talk to him privately when he wakes up."

They all nodded and left noisily. Marx didn't stir at all so I nudged him. He still didn't do anything. I sighed and shook him violently. His eyes flew open before he bit my paw.

"Ow!" I shoved him backwards and he squealed. The teeth marks were barely visible and would probably fade away in a few days.

"Are you okay?" Marx was shivering for some reason. I patted him on the head and tried to look happy.

"I'm fine," I laid back down and grabbed the ends of his hat, pulling him next to me, "you should be more worried about yourself."

He sat up and stared at me without a word. It was beginning to freak me out, so I closed my eyes. "Please look at me." he whispered.

I forced my eyes open again. "Is something wrong?"

Marx's mouth twitched as if he was going to talk. We were both silent for a while before he collapsed onto his side and started to sob. I wasn't really sure what to do, so I ended up doing nothing. He gradually stopped and looked at me.

"Please don't cry," I whispered, wrapping him in my arms, "you haven't done anything wrong. Actually, someone said you saved my life," I let go and looked him in the eyes, "I'm so proud of you for that."

"I can't," he choked, "I can't let you thank me. I was the reason you were going to be murdered! I was being weak and selfish and you _saved me_! I want to be strong like you, I don't want to be scared all the time, I don't want to hurt anymore! I'm trying, see, I'm trying! I'll try harder, I'll do my best to become the person everyone wants me to be! I'll—"

"Shush!" I slapped my paw over his mouth and sighed heavily, "I know that you're trying. You don't need to tell me that. I already told you I'll love you no matter how you are, okay?"

I removed my paw so that he could speak. "I don't want to hurt you any more. You'll just end up hating me like everyone else...because it's fate."

"No," I took him in my arms and cradled him to the best of my abilities, "I could never hate you. I know you better than anyone else and it's almost like you _are _me. We're counterparts now and I don't think I could live without you!"

Marx nodded before slipping into unconsciousness. I hugged him tighter, never wanting to let go. It hurt me too, when he fell apart like this. I always helped to the best of my abilities but I don't think there was any way to heal him fully. Deep down, there was something hurting him and I would never know what it is. I guess he would have to deal with it himself one day.

I laid back down again and closed my eyes. I should've asked how much time passed, I realized that now. So I got up again and searched the room for a calendar. I found a little notebook with one in it. The date marked in it was two days after we battled Drawcia, which means I wasn't unconscious for very long.

I put the notebook down and got back in bed. I desperately wished this would end. It was taking too long and I just wanted to get back to working at Kawasaki's restaurant. I wanted to feed people and make them happy, which in turn made me happy. It was so easy and calming. Speaking of Kawasaki though, I still didn't know where he was. I hoped he was safe and sound.

"Is it a burden yet?"

"What?" my gaze directed at Marx. When I looked closer I saw that he was still fast asleep. Maybe he was only half awake when he spoke and dozed off again. I sighed and rolled over.

"I asked you a question, aren't you going to answer?"

I sat up and yelled out, "Who's there?" I got no answer, just Marx's light snoring. I shoved him gently which caused him to stir. His eyes gradually opened and he stared at me.

"Is something wrong?" he murmured, "You should be sleeping too. Are you okay?"

I shook my head. "It's nothing. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. Go back to sleep." I laid back and closed my eyes for hopefully one last time. I didn't feel tired for some reason. It was probably because I'd been sleeping for the last two days anyway. More than anything I was hungry.

"Am I a burden to you yet, Dee?"

Marx was looking at me with watery eyes. I stared back at him in awe. I hope it didn't show too much. "No. Why would you be?"

He smiled. "Oh, that makes me feel better. Thank you," his eyes shut and he gave me a pleasant expression. I wasn't sure what to think. The voice I heard earlier, could it be Marx's thoughts in his sleep? I decided not to ever mention it to him. Why would he think something like that in the first place, anyway?

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Kirby asked the next day at breakfast. We were in the throne room as usual. It surprised me that Drawcia didn't actually invade our hide-out yet. She must've been planning something else.

"What was Marx's second plan? I forgot," Nikki questioned me. I knew the answer, but I wanted Marx to tell her. He was the one who came up with it after all.

As if summoned, Marx came in at that very moment and sat next to me. "I told you if this first plan fails we'd summon Zero. I can't believe you all forgot."

There was a loud gasp which went around the room. "When you said that the first time it wasn't that scary because I thought we wouldn't have to do it! But now we really have to…" Ribbon shivered. I didn't blame her for being scared since Zero invaded her planet a couple of years ago. That was how we all met her.

"Zero isn't that bad," Marx smiled weakly, "just misunderstood. He wanted love and friends, nothing else. If we fulfill that I'm sure things will go well." there was something genuine in his voice as he said this. It was almost reassuring.

"This could work," Meta Knight agreed, "you do realise we would be using Zero though, don't you?"

Marx was about to fight back but I spoke before he could. "If he gains a friend or two, it's alright. Everyone's getting what they want, right?" I didn't want him to embarrass himself by getting angry in front of everyone.

"Yes, I suppose," I couldn't tell what Meta Knight was thinking. Not that it really mattered what he thought about this.

"Right, then that's what we're doing today," Marx yelled, "We're going to the forest and summoning Zero! WOOH!" once again no one cheered so he continued, "It's the place I got Fumu and Simirror to guard. We should hurry."

We all murmured in agreement and ate the rest of our food.

The trail through the woods was a boring one. As usual, the scenery only consisted of trees and bushes, some more trees, a few flowers and more trees and a couple more bushes. Since no one talked to each other for half of the way it was pretty much as lame as walks could be. As I said, that was only for half of the way. The awkwardness was obviously too much for Nikki and she had to speak.

"So what are we gonna do if Zero turns on us?" her voice sounded desperate. Maybe it wasn't for the topic, but she just needed a conversation.

"Then we'll kill him, there's no big mystery around it," Marx grumbled next to me. He let out a sigh, "I'm sure he won't. He isn't as bad as we think, I already told you that!"

"Well, you don't have to get mad about it," Kirby laughed, "Where exactly are we going anyway?"

An idea popped into my head and I just had to say it. "We're going to where I found you, aren't we?"

Marx smiled, though it appeared slightly forced. "Yeah. I think that's where the two dimensions of life and death connect. That sounds kind of weird without suspenseful music in the background, doesn't it?"

"No, it's fine," I patted his head which made him scowl at me.

"Please stop doing that, it makes me feel small."

I laughed. "I'm sorry. You just have such a cute and irresistible face. I want to hug you and pat your head all day long!"

That crazy sentence just earned me a blank stare. "I'll pretend you didn't say that."

"Hey! It's the truth!" I punched his side and he giggled, "It doesn't embarrass me at all, either."

"Well, it embarrasses me, so I'll keep it a secret," Marx smiled warmly. I gave him a similar expression before noticing we were falling behind. I grabbed him by his hat and dragged him along until we caught up with the others.

Once we did everyone turned to us (which was just plain unnerving). "Are we at our destination yet, Marx?" Meta Knight asked, always the first to talk.

"Almost," Marx answered in a serious tone, "it's just a bit longer. Y'know, I can't remember it being this far!"

"That's because the first time I carried you the whole way. And the second time we only walked past the area and didn't try to pinpoint it," I laughed and he did the same. Not because it was funny, but for some reason I can't explain.

"Here!" Marx shouted, making me jump.

I looked around, trying to remember what the place looked like. "Is this it?"

"Yeah, that bush there! I remembered it," he walked closer to it and examined it, "The leaves have reddish tips and they're kind of fluffy looking. And deep inside it has these berries that have a blue tint on the bottom and—"

"Okay, then I guess this is the bush," I chuckled nervously, "so what now?"

There was a silence from Marx, so Simirror spoke. "Is there a spell or something?"

"People who knew Zero in any way, I need you to come here," he stood in front of everyone as they looked at each other. The people who came to stand next to him were Kirby, Ribbon and Meta Knight, "Okay, since Dedede is guarding the castle, we'll have to start without him."

"Wait!" Kirby yelled, "How does Meta Knight know Zero?"

This one statement made us all turn to Meta Knight. He seemed unfazed by this. "I would like to recite the story for you now, but there is no time. Can you please tell us what to do, Marx?"

Marx nodded. "Okay, get in a circle and hold each others' hands. For Ribbon and Kirby, 'cuz you're next to me, you can hold my hat or something."

"Then what?" Ribbon asked after grabbing Marx's hat and Meta Knight's hand.

"Think of Zero in your head and just concentrate on that image," he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I hope this works."

Nothing happened at first. Then after a while orbs of light floated around us. It wasn't very many until they began to build up and fill the air. I could barely even see. The next thing that happened was the circle Marx, Kirby, Ribbon and Meta Knight formed started to glow with darkness. A void opened beneath them and waves of darkness rushed out at an amazing speed. I couldn't label the waves; they didn't really resemble anything I'd ever seen.

The small group ran away from the void and separated but it didn't disappear. I shut my eyes in fear as I felt an object force itself in my arms. I saw it was just Marx when I opened my eyes again. I looked around at everyone else. The people who were summoning Zero were all unconscious.

The force of the waves grew, pushing me onto the ground with ease like a bowling pin. I must've stayed like that for ten minutes, still holding Marx, before the waves weakened. When they did I stood up and looked down at my feet. I was standing in a shallow pool of blood.

"HEY!" I wasn't sure who that was, but they made me look at the void, which was now a hole in the bloody earth. A few orbs escaped before a creature whose body was soaking with blood emerged. Under normal circumstances I would be choking with disgust, but it was so…beautiful. He was Zero. Or rather, he was Zero Two. I'd never seen something so hauntingly gorgeous in my whole life. There were no words to describe it.

"Marx!" I shook his body a few times before he woke. He blinked and licked his lips.

"Ew, blood. Wait," he hopped away from my arms and grinned at Zero Two, "Holy freaking cherry donuts! It's really Zero!"

Zero looked down at us with his single red eye. The blood on his body was gone and now he seemed almost holy. "You…freed me."

"Hell yeah!" Marx shouted, "One good turn for another, right? We are friends, after all."

"Friends," Zero took time to study each of us, "I understand. How is Drawcia? Have you seen her yet?"

"Zero, Drawcia is using your Dark Matter for evil! She stole them and now she's making them do selfish stuff for her!" I yelled. My voice sounded desperate.

Zero's eye closed and began to leak blood. He flew a bit higher and towards the great temple where Drawcia lived. How he knew what to do, I didn't really know.

"Okaaay, now we just hope he deals with the rest and go home," Marx started to walk away and I gestured for everyone else to follow. I couldn't help but feel helpless. We needed to throw all our trust into a creature we nevertrust before this.

So we returned to the castle and cleaned ourselves off to relax. Well, we _tried _to relax. We all secretly worried about what would happen and how Zero would deal with things. As Marx and I got ready for bed I was tired of holding the thought in my head.

"Do you think Zero will be alright? What if Drawcia gets to him? Or what if she hurts him?"

Marx jumped onto the bed and smiled at me. "I'm sure he'll be okay. There's nothing to worry about. Really." It felt like he was reassuring himself more than he was me. I sighed and laid down next to him.

"If you say so, then I believe you," I closed my eyes and began to drift off to sleep.

"Thank you."

I looked at Marx, puzzled. "What for? Believing you?"

"I don't know, I just feel like I should thank you," he shut his eyes and fell asleep. I didn't know what else to say, so I followed him.

**Author's note: Holy cherry donuts! LOL!**

**Okay, besides that, I hope you watched the Buri Hamachi video! They're all so cute! Ahhhh, they make you so happy it's unhealthy! XD**

**Now, to the story, Zero's part was short in this chapter. Oooh, I didn't realize I was a fan until I wrote this! Oh, and I'm sorry to those who think Zero is female. **

**Alright people, may ye be Meta fans, Marx fans, Kirby fans, the rare Dedede fans or etc., ye must review! ^^**

P.S. Chapter name because of Zero Two's Japanese name.


	17. Never

**Author's note: This'll be my second last author's note since I'm not doing one at the end of this chapter. I just didn't want to ruin the mood…what am I saying? Please keep reading. Reviews are welcome, but don't feel like I'm forcing you. I'm not.**

**Poll results are displayed on my profile. :)**

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* * *

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16

Never

"I can't take it anymore! We need to do something! Just look out the window!"

I looked at Marx, who was lying down at the end of the bed. His head was turned slightly to see out of the window. "What do you mean? We can't really help, you know that."

He scowled at me, trying to look angry and frightening. It didn't work. "We don't know what's going on and that feeling…it bothers me. A lot."

"Control freak," I giggled as he glared at me with such fury he probably could've shot lasers out of his eyes. I leaned over and patted his head.

"If you aren't careful, you'll be missing a paw pretty soon!" He snapped. He was about to say something else when a deafening crash sound hit us. I grabbed Marx for safety as he screamed hysterically.

"Hey! You two! Get out of there NOW!" a pair of arms wrapped around us and ushered us out of the room. I opened my eyes and realized I was still holding Marx.

"Meta Knight!" he shouted. I let go with the shock of his ridiculously loud voice,

Meta Knight began to walk away and we followed reluctantly. "Did you hear it?"

"Nah, we just thought it would be fun to sit in the room and panic. Of course we heard the goddamn CRASH!" Marx shrieked. He was shivering with a terrified expression on his face. I hugged him again reassuringly.

"I believe that it is downstairs," Meta Knight continued walking. Marx glared up at me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. He shook his head and looked at the ground.

I saw Meta Knight staring us angrily. "There's no time to waste. Please hurry."

"I'm sorry, that was my fault," Marx murmured. I placed my paw on his back and pushed him along.

When we reached the throne room it was barely recognizable. There was rubble everywhere and no one was in sight. I ran in to see Zero in the center of the room. I'd never noticed he was so big. His wing span was the width of the room and his actual body was a fourth of that. A much smaller Drawcia began to circle him. They must've been battling outside before crashing through the wall.

"Holy-! What happened here?" Marx stumbled in, studying our surroundings. I heard a shout from across the room and turned to face it. Ribbon's head, along with a few others, was peeking out from behind a pile of rubble.

I grabbed Marx by his hat and ran over to them. "What's going on? Is anyone hurt?" I asked upon arrival.

"My castle is RUINED!" Dedede screamed loudly. We all stared at him, "What?"

"No one really cares," Marx sighed, "So, is there battle plan yet?"

Kirby raised his paw like a student. "We're gonna attack Drawcia with brute force! YEAH!"

Marx gave him a blank stare. "Um, I guess that's as good as anything else. We'll need to fight strategically though. I was thinking of ambushing Drawcia from behind or…oh whatever! Just try and kill her!"

There was a cheer before everyone invaded the battlefield, nearly trampling Marx and I. "Who cheers about hurting others? Isn't that sadistic?"

"Them, and yes it is," Marx transformed into his soul form and scowled at me, "get on my back."

"Why?"

"Just do it!" he scooped me up, placing me gently on his back. I snuggled into him lovingly, "This isn't the time for that! Where's your parasol?"

I shook my head. "Someone's angry today," I hopped off his back and pushed some of the rubble aside, revealing my parasol. I took it and climbed back onto Marx, who looked amazed.

"How did you know..? Whatever, I don't care. Let's just get going." he flapped his wings a few times before flying up and towards the battle.

"What are you planning on doing?" I asked nervously as we plunged down, aiming for Drawcia. She dodged just in time and we were sent hurtling to the ground.

"What on Pop Star was that?" we (or rather Marx) flew back up to face her, "Oh, I should've known. Deranged clown and peasant girl."

I waved my parasol in the air with anger. "Old witch lady, you'll pay for that!"

"Calling one another names isn't helping…" Zero floated up, looking malevolent. He shot an energy ball at an unsuspecting Drawcia. She was knocked out instantly and fell to the floor, paralyzed.

Marx and I looked at her body in curiosity. "Is that all? Nah, that was too easy!" he complained. One of the ends of his hat touched my face, tickling me. I giggled and swatted at it aimlessly. I ended up hitting him.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Did I hurt you? I'm so sorry!"

"No, you didn't…look out!" this time Drawcia was the one shooting an energy ball. I wasn't sure if it was at us or Zero. I concluded it wasn't us because she didn't chase after us when we flew away from the battle.

Marx and I floated there for a long time, watching the two exchange attacks. Neither was really getting anywhere. After a while I saw projectiles coming from the ground. I looked down to see that everyone was firing things at Drawcia to the best of their abilities. I waved though they probably couldn't see me.

"Hold onto me," Marx said suddenly, "we're going to fly at Drawcia at full speed. If we die, I want you to know I love you."

I hugged him tight. "I love you too. Please go ahead." with that we dashed through the air. I felt like I was going to fall until some strange liquid wrapped itself around us. The surprise distracted me as we collided with Drawcia. The liquid, which I recognized as paint, enveloped and trapped her.

"Hell yes! That was awesome. Wasn't that awesome? Yeah! I was awesome!"

I patted Marx's head and laughed. "Yes you were. You were awesome."

Without wasting any time, Zero brushed past us. A few Dark Matters formed around him and began attacking Drawcia. She shrieked in pain and began to panic. It hurt to watch so I closed my eyes.

"Dee, are you okay? What are you doing?" Marx asked. His voice was soft and tender like he was talking to a child.

I shook my head. "I'm fine. This's just horrible, though! I can't look!"

"How could you..?" the sound of Drawcia's voice made me finally open them. She was freed from the paint and hung in the air, looking weak and beaten, "All my dreams have faded away. Never to come again. I'll never be happy." She swayed around a few times before a black hole opened behind her.

Marx's wings flapped up and down frantically. "What's she doing? TELL ME!"

"Omigod, Marx!" the suction force coming from the hole tore me off Marx's back. I grasped onto his right wing. It was the only thing keeping me from flying away.

"Dee!"

I couldn't take it anymore after some time, so I let go. Marx screeched something that made no sense and flew after me. We got sucked into the black hole together and lost consciousness.

* * *

I woke up in a world made of nothing. There was no ground, no life forms, no anything. The only other living thing was Marx, who had his wings wrapped around my body in an embrace. I struggled to get out but realized I couldn't. So after a while I just cuddled into him. It was so comfortable and quiet I almost fell asleep.

"Dee?" Marx's eyes fluttered opened and he hugged me tighter, "You're alive!"

"Of course I am! I wouldn't die and leave you all alone," he let go and I made my way onto his back again, "okay, so where are we?"

He shook his head. "Beats me. Huh, well let's see…Drawcia dragged us here so she might be in this place too."

"I agree. So we look for Drawcia, right?" This earned me a nod and we were off, exploring the vast space.

We were flying for what seemed like years before we spotted a shape in the distance. Marx approached it carefully and as we got closer I realized it was just an empty can. Neither of us wondered what it was there for, we just kept going.

"Are you looking for me, sweeties?"

I took out my parasol in defence. "Who's there?"

Drawcia materialized in front of us. She appeared just as she did before we came to this place; beaten and ragged. "You don't understand how sorry I am right now!" there was a silence so she kept going, "I just…you wouldn't understand. You wouldn't know."

"Know what?" I asked.

"Know…the suffering," her yellow eye welled up with tears, "I had no parents and no one ever loved me. Even the painter, the one who created my painting form, even they abandoned me. I was a freak and no one understood! They would just hate me before they even got to know me! It was horrible! So I forced them to understand! I wanted them to know what it was like to be trapped in a world made solely of paint!"

"So, you were only trying to be accepted?" Marx wondered, "Because the people here would do that. They're cool."

Drawcia let out a happy sigh. "I can see that now, but it's too late for me. Even so, I won't have to go to the lowest death world," a holy looking light shone behind her. She turned to it with a happy expression on her face, "I hope we all meet again in the afterlife. I would really like to be…friends."

Marx and I waved her goodbye. "Okay!" I shouted, "We'll see you there!"

She stopped halfway over to the light and returned. She floated in front of Marx, who was crying. "Marx, I want you to forgive me for being angry at you and Dee. I want to make it up to you."

He sniffled and shook his head. "No, you don't have to! We're alright, we know you didn't mean it!"

"Oh no, I insist," Drawcia began to melt and mould herself into some weird form of a ball. We just stared at her with wide eyes. As her body took shape she appeared to be a giant blob of pink and purple paint with multiple eyes and a mouth, "**I'm taking you with me**!"

Marx groaned. "Well this's great. Where's Kirby when you need him? And what's with the loud voice?"

"**There will be no fighting. I'm just doing what I said!**" Marx was pulled away from me violently. I floated over to him as fast as I could and grabbed his wing like before.

"Marx!" I shouted as a black vortex polluted the once holy light. Drawcia hovered in front of it, waiting for Marx to join her.

He looked at me. I could see it pained him to say his next sentence. "Let go. I love you, but please let go. Everything will be okay."

I didn't know what else to do, so I did as he said. In the blink of an eye Marx was gone. Drawcia was sucked into the portal not long after him. The dark vortex disappeared in front of me and I found myself alone in the never ending space. The shock of what just happened paralyzed me for the first few moments, then I realized I would never see Marx again. No more laughter. No more endless teasing of everyone else. No more long talks about absolute nonsense. I wouldn't even be able to celebrate his birthday with him. There was no more Marx.

I burst into tears and hugged my parasol close to my body. A sudden wave of fatigue washed over me and I was knocked unconscious. My last thought was that nothing else would ever matter to me again. Wherever he was, Marx still had half of me with him. Without that, I was half empty…and I would never be filled.

Never.


	18. Epilogue

Dee didn't handle death well. When she was only a little girl her mother, whom she was very close to, was killed in an accident. She decided not to tell a soul. She was afraid they would give her sympathy. She didn't want sympathy. So everyone who had it worse than her would have her love. She would take care of them and make them happy. In a strange way this made her happy too.

After gradually healing she, as you know, befriended Marx. At first she was just going to care for him and such, but then she found she loved him. It was so much like the love for her mother and she feared losing him. When he died she lost all happiness and could never be comforted enough. Eventually, her friends decided giving up was the only thing to do.

The young girl wanted to confide in someone, so she tried talking to another girl named Nikki. When she arrived at the small house Nikki was staying in, she found that her friend died. Apparently she had a disease before her arrival but didn't mention it. Meeting Meta Knight was her dream and she wanted to act on it before her death.

Dee ran home and locked herself inside. She never wanted to face the world again. She stayed there for weeks before finally starting to work again. Her boss didn't mind her leave and was just thankful to have her back.

So her life commenced. New enemies threatened her planet and she watched Kirby and the others fight. She didn't talk to them much anymore, so she could barely label them 'friends.' Instead of joining them, she waited for Marx. She hoped that he would return someday. Until that time came, Dee would wait. Being alone stripped her of any little bit of joy left in her heart and soon she realized she hadn't laughed for a long time. It didn't matter though. She would wait and wait, even if it took her whole life. It didn't matter, she knew he had to come back someday, right?

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**Author's note: Actually, no one voted for Marx. Nikki, yes. She got the most, so I was forced to kill her. As for Marx, I was planning his death all along. I just felt like it could make an emotional impact. Did it?**

**And poor Dee! She lost her mom when she was only a little girl! That was a bit of a surprise. She acted so happy and nice all the time…ah well. Please review. That's all.**


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